


From Mafioso to Pirate

by BlueWaterBlueSky



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, One Piece
Genre: Decided to start posting it here too, Gen, Lambo joins the Strawhats Fic, Nakamaship, also posted on fanfiction, more tags added as the story goes on, why not?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 59,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24152935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueWaterBlueSky/pseuds/BlueWaterBlueSky
Summary: At the age of fifteen, Lambo is looked down upon by everyone in his so-called family. When he's just about to give up on ever proving himself to them, he finds himself being stalked by some kid wearing a straw hat shouting, "Join my crew!"OrLambo joins the Strawhat Pirates. Shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Lambo Bovino & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates, Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Comments: 70
Kudos: 357





	1. Family?

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually my first story, posted on my fanfiction account. I decided to start posting it here too, since I have most of my other fics on both ff and ao3 anyway. As this was my first fic, the first few chapters are kind of rough, in my opinion, as I was just getting started. I believe it gets better as it goes on, but I'll let you be the judge of that. I also won't post them all here at once, 'cause I'm kind of lazy. Maybe once a week.
> 
> The world this takes place in is kind of a combination of KHR and One Piece. Namimori is it's own island, as one example. As such, the OP world will encompass the KHR world, and so some events from KHR will be different or may not have happened at all. I'll reveal more on the KHR story within this universe as it becomes necessary, but it isn't really the main point of this fic, so don't expect a lot of it. For now, at least, I may change my mind and have it be a bigger thing as I go on.

Fifteen-year-old Lambo sighed as he gazed sadly at his Vongola Ring. He has officially been the Vongola Lightning Guardian for ten years.

The boy sighed again. He may have been a guardian for ten years, but it didn't feel like he was one at all.

He just wasn't treated like a guardian. Not by his fellow guardians, not by his boss, not even by Reborn, who once said that there was no one worthier than him to be the Lightning Guardian.

Tsuna cared for him, but he didn't understand him, nor did he trust him. He had never once given him a mission, and wouldn't even let him do mundane tasks around the mansion. He seemed to think that giving Lambo any work whatsoever would result in him messing up and then crying to him about it.

If Tsuna thought that he was too weak, then why didn't he do anything to help him? If Tsuna, who was once so dame, could become such a great and influental mafia boss, then why did everyone give up on Lambo so easily? Without even giving him the option of becoming stronger? They just gave up on him without even giving him a chance.

Gokudera Hayato, the Storm Guardian, saw him as nothing but an annoying cowardly burden. Even as Lambo grew older, stopped being so loud and annoying, and became less cowardly, the man just continued to treat him like he did when he was five, insulting him and calling him "stupid cow" and other demeaning names.

Once Lambo had hit the age of nine, he was in that phase where he wanted acceptance from those around him. He tried to be nice to Gokudera, hoping taht the man would be nice in return, or at least less insulting. But it seemed that the silver-haired man was just too used to seeing him as the "stupid cow" to realize that Lambo was growing up and maturing. Tsuna one reassured him that Gokudera did in fact care about him and even told him a story about how once, during a fight between Xanxus and his guardians and Tsuna and his, the other man had saved his life. The boy found this hard to believe, though, especially since he didn't remember any of it.

Yamamato Takeshi was one of the few who were nice to him. But Lambo noticed a big difference in how Yamamato treated him and how he treated the others. The swordsman seemed to always hold a different expression when looking at him than when he looked at everyone else. As a kid, he never understood it. As he grew older, he finally did.

Pity. The strange expressoin on the man's face was pity. Whenever Lambo made a mistake, the swordsman's expression said that he was not surprised, that he was even expecting it. Lambo, after learning that Yamamato had no expectations for him, had felt his heart break slightly. Ever since his revelation, his relationship with Yamamato had become strained, him no longer viewing him as an older brother. Yamamato, who to this day was still a bit oblivious to the things around him, never noticed.

Ryohei was someone that Lambo used to hold in high esteem. When he was younger, the man treated him as if he were his own little brother. Ryohei would often play with him when he was younger, and he never got annoyed with him like the others often did. Ryohei was good with kids, but when those kids grew up, Lambo realized, the man didn't know how to deal with them anymore.

When Lambo was ten, Ryohei realized how weak Lambo was when compared to the other guardians, and he immediately made it his mission to train the younger male. At first, Lambo had been overjoyed. With Ryohei's help, he was sure to get stronger and his family would start to act differently towards him! Unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Ryohei's training was, for lack of a better word, extreme. And it really brought home the fact that Ryohei was not good with older children. The training he had Lambo do was not fit for a ten year old. But Ryohei, who had been training hard from the time he was a child, didn't realize this. After about five months of attempted training, it seemed that the man's patience had finally run out. For the first time since Lambo had known him, Ryohei lost his temper, shouting about how he was weak and useless and how he was giving up on him. Later, once he had calmed down, he had apologized profusely to Lambo. He did not ask for them to resume their training, however, and Lambo decided against bringing it up ever again. The incident caused the Lightning Guardian's self-esteem to plunge downwards.

Hibari Kyouya...well...there was not really much to say about him. The Cloud Guardian had basically ignored him for his entire life, seeing him as nothing but another herbivore that deserved no attention. Although Lambo wasn't very close to the man, his outright indifference actually hurt worse than Gokudera's hostility, especially since they were supposed to be "family."

Mukuro treated him basically the same as Hibari. Lambo barely ever saw the man, and when he did a brief look of disgust would cross the illusionist's face before it went back to being neutral. The expression gave Lambo all the information he needed to know how the man felt about him.

Chrome was nice to him, and she seemed to understand where he was coming from due to her past with her own family. But, unlike him, she had people who helped her become strong. She was strong now, unlike him. So, even in her eyes, he was a weakling.

Kyoko and Haru were two people that Lambo used to see as older sisters. As he grew older, though, he started seeing them less and less often. Tsuna had decided that, since the two girls were now involved with the Mafia, they had to learn how to defend themselves, which resulted in them seeing him less. At first, Lambo was very bitter about it, but not because he didn't see them as much, but because everyone had better expectations for them than they did for him. When he grew older, though, he understood why. Kyoko and Haru weren't guardians like him, people had different expectations for them. But that still didn't explain why Tsuna had offered to train them but had never offered the same for him. Did they just expect him to be strong from the get-go just because he was a guardian?

As a result of rarely seeing each other, Kyoko and Haru did not know how to act around him anymore. He obviously wasn't that little rambunctious five-year-old anymore. Their meetings now were very...awkward. They would often start to talk about subjects that little kids would like before stopping when they realized he was losing interest. Afterwards, whether they did it on purpose or unconsciously, they had begun to avoid him, leaving him mourning over their broken bond.

He really didn't know how Bianchi felt about him. She was nice to him when he was a child, but as he grew up, due to his apparent resemblance to an old boyfriend of hers, she now threw her poison cooking in his face whenever she saw him. A part of Lambo missed the nice Bianchi his child-self knew, and a bigger part of him made sure to never go near her if he valued his life.

His relationship with I-Pin had already started to strain by the time they began school together. The girl quickly found her own group of friends. She tried to include Lambo in it as well, but the boy was avoided by many of the children in school because of his horrible grades and because of what a spoiled brat he was back then. Eventually, I-Pin, not wanting to lose the friends she had made, left him behind.

When it happened, Lambo was heartbroken. Now, years later, he and her were almost no better than strangers to each other.

As for Mama... Well... At first, she seemed to have good expectations for him. But as he brought home bad grade after bad grade, he was shocked by how quickly and easily her expectations for him faded. He had once even heard her sighing about having another "dame and useless son." Now he understood how Tsuna felt when he was young... He had begun to avoid her after that, and Nana, true to her obliviousness, never even noticed how awkward his conversations with her had become or how little she had begun to see of him.

Reborn was always mean to him, but that only seemed to escalate as he grew older. The ex-Arcobaleno was always insulting him, glaring at him in disgust, and questioning about how it was possible that they hadn't found a replacement for him yet. Lambo often wanted to yell at him about how he had trained Dame-Tsuna to become a great mafia boss, so why couldn't he train Lambo to become a great Lightning Guardian? But, since he was terrified of the hitman, the poor boy would just take the borderline verbal abuse before quickly getting as far away from him as he could.

Fortunately, the hitman didn't bother much with him anymore. After the Arcobaleno Curse was broken, all of the ex-Arcobaleno, excluding Verde (God knows where he went off to) joined the Vongola, or were forced to join, in the Cloud Arcobaleno's case. Skull stayed with them for a few years (Lambo's heart often hurt at the sight of the borderline abuse he received from his "fellow" Arcobaleno) before, one day, he just disappeared.

The phrase "you don't know what you have until it's gone" came to mind as Lambo watched the other ex-Arcobaleno practically go into a panic searching for him. Lambo inwardly scoffed. What did they expect after how they treated him? It seemed that, because they all saw him as their lackey, they had forgotten that Skull was his own person and that he was under no obligation to stay with them. It was only after he left that they realized their mistakes. After all, what kind of sky has no clouds? A part of him felt sorry for Reborn and the others, but he honestly thought that they deserved it. Reborn ignored him as a result, which Lambo took great relief in.

After he left, Lambo often wondered if there was a possibility that he could have become friends with Skull, what with their similar backgrounds of being looked down upon by the people who were supposed to be their comrades. Now, he'd never know.

Fuuta was the only member of his "family" that seemed to care about him anymore. The older boy was always asking if he was alright and if there was anything he could do to help him out. Lambo was very touched by this, but unfortunately couldn't spend much time with Fuuta as the older male had his own missions to do.

But even if Fuuta treated him better than the rest of his "family" did, it was painfully obvious that he had as much expectations for Lambo as the rest of them did. When he was eleven, he asked Fuuta if he would train him so that he could become stronger. Fuuta had given him an indulgent smile and told him "when you're older." This in itself wasn't a bad response...if it weren't for the fact that he said the same thing every year that Lambo had asked him for the past four years. Once, Lambo had had enough of it and attempted to steal some weapons in order to train himself, but was caught by Tsuna. From then on, everyone made sure to always keep an eye on him to make sure he never did anything like that again, never even thinking of asking him why he did it in the first place.

Lambo felt like he was surrounded by strangers, not by a family.

He really wanted to just go up to them and threw a massive tantrum demanding explanations as to why they always insulted his weakness and intelligence yet never did anything to help him. But throwing a tantrum would just prove to them all that he really was the stupid, weak, spoiled, useless brat that they seemed to think he was.

Lambo's gaze moved away from the Vongola Ring on his finger and towards the window. He just sat there, staring at the beautiful blue sky, as if asking it for answers.

Would this be his entire life?

He broke out of his thoughts when there was a sudden hard knock on his bedroom door. "Oi! Stupid Cow!" Came Gokudera's voice. "Juudaime wants to see you!"


	2. Shells Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually my first story, posted on my fanfiction account. I decided to start posting it here too, since I have most of my other fics on both ff and ao3 anyway. As this was my first fic, the first few chapters are kind of rough, in my opinion, as I was just getting started. I believe it gets better as it goes on, but I'll let you be the judge of that. I also won't post them all here at once, 'cause I'm kind of lazy. Maybe once a week.

Gokudera had silently led Lambo to the door of their boss' office. Once they were there, the silver-haired man gave the younger boy a glare, snarled out "Don't trouble Juudaime, you stupid cow," and left.

After he left, Lambo just stood there, fidgeting. Why would Tsuna want to see _him_? Tsuna usually _never_ called him to his office. The only time he had that Lambo could remember was that incident when he tried to steal some weapons. Was he in trouble for something? He didn't remember doing anything that would warrant this...

Finally, deciding that it was useless to just stand there and speculate, he took a deep breath and put both hands on the double doors, gently pushing them open.

Walking into the room, he immediately gained the attention of Tsuna, who looked up from his paperwork and smiled at him. "Ah, Lambo, perfect timing."

"Hey there, Decimo," Lambo greeted, trying to be his usual nonchalant self as his mind shot out theory after theory about why he was called.

The worry seemed to show anyway, as Tsuna quickly said, "Don't worry, Lambo, you're not in trouble or anything like that."

Lambo mentally heaved a sigh of relief. Outwardly, he said, "Really? Yare, yare, don't scare me like that, Decimo..."

Tsuna gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, I should have told Gokudera-kun to make that clear when he went to get you..." He said as he stood up and walked towards him. "And you don't have to call me 'Decimo' right now. This is a personal meeting."

Lambo blinked in surprise. "Eh?"

His boss' face became troubled as he stopped in front of him. "You've seemed...different these past few weeks, Lambo. Sadder, quieter... Is something bothering you?"

Lambo fought to keep his expression neutral. _'I've been like this for more than just a few weeks,'_ he thought to himself bitterly. _'You're only noticing now?'_

A sudden thought hit him. Why _was_ Tsuna noticing this now? He'd be like this for _years_ without anyone really noticing, so why would they now? Just as he was about to question him, though, Tsuna spoke again.

"So, I've decided to give you a three-week vacation."

Whatever Lambo had been expecting Tsuna to say, it wasn't that. He had been expecting something more along the lines of "Do you want to talk about it?" or "Is there anything I can do?" This seemed very un-Tsuna-like.

"Why?" Lambo asked, narrowing his eyes slightly in suspicion.

"E-Eh?" Tsuna asked, looking like he was not expecting that question at all.

Okay, now Lambo was _really_ suspicious. Tsuna's stutter had almost disappeared over the years (courtesy of Reborn) and only really came back when he was genuinely nervous about something. There was something wrong here.

"Why do you want me to go on vacation all of a sudden?" The green-eyed boy continued to question.

"Wh-Why are you asking so many questions about this, Lambo?" Even though he stuttered, there was genuine confusion in his face at his Lightning Guardian's reaction.

Before the younger male could say anything else, though, another voice spoke up that sent chills down his spine.

"Just thank your boss for his kindness, Stupid Cow."

"R-Reborn," Lambo muttered as he and Tsuna both looked at the hitman, who was leaning against the door, a cold expression on his face.

"Lambo," Tsuna said, drawing his attention back to him. The brunette gave him a soft smile. "I really am worried about you. You've seemed so depressed these past few days. I have a feeling this will help. Trust me, alright?"

Lambo went silent for a moment before sighing. He really _did_ trust Tsuna. If his boss believed that this vacation would help him, then it most likely would. Hyper Intuition was almost never wrong, after all.

"...Fine, I'll go," the younger of the three sighed. He would find more information about this "vacation" later. "So where will I be going, anyway?"

Tsuna let out a barely audible sigh of relief. "Fuuta will take you to the port tomorrow. He'll give you all the details then, alright?"

"...Right," the cow-clad boy sighed before turning and exiting the room, careful to avoid Reborn, who hadn't moved from his place near the door.

XXX

Even though Tsuna seemed to really be worried about him, this whole thing seemed suspicious. So, the very next day, when Lambo overheard his name being said as he passed by the door of his boss' office, he stopped.

He was most definitely not eavesdropping. He just _happened_ to hear it when he pressed his ear against the door. He was not eavesdropping at all.

Realizing that the door was slightly open (very sloppy of them), he peeked inside to see that there were five people there. Looking closer, he recognized them as Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, Ryohei, and Reborn. He frowned. Why would the four of them be talking about him?

"Oh, so Lambo agreed? That's great!" Yamamato said with his usual carefree grin.

"Now we don't have to worry about that stupid cow messing up another meeting," Gokudera said happily. "This was a great idea, Juudaime!"

_'Meeting?'_ Lambo thought, becoming more confused by the minute. _'What are they talking about?'_

Luckily for him, Ryohei seemed just as confused as he was. "What meeting? I'm confused, to the extreme..."

"Oh, that's right," Tsuna said, realization in his tone. "You were on a job at the time. Well, a few days ago, we were having a very important meeting with one of our allies, and..."

"The idiot cow decided that that was the perfect time to get switched out by the Ten-Year-Bazooka," Reborn interrupted, glaring out the window.

"Oh? So he's started switching out?" Yamamato asked, laughing good naturedly. "I was starting to wonder when that would start happening!"

"This isn't a good thing, you idiot!" Gokudera shouted at him angrily. "That stupid cow almost ruined the negotiations! We were just lucky that their boss was understanding!"

"We're having a meeting with another family soon to discuss a peace treaty," Tsuna continued. "We've been fighting against them for a while, and the situation is...fragile, so we can't have anything happening that could ruin negotiations."

"Oh, I get it now, to the extreme!" Ryohei exclaimed, nodding.

"Couldn't you just keep him in another part of the mansion, though?" Yamamato asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"Last time he was on _the other side of the mansion_ ," Reborn said, almost groaning at the memory.

"Really?" Ryohei asked, eyes wide. "How did he extremely get to the other side in less than five minutes?"

"Fuuta was with him at the time," Tsuna said. "According to him, Five-Year-Old-Lambo accidentally sent himself flying with one of his own grenades."

"And the idiot landed right in the middle of the room during negotiations!" Gokudera finished for him. "Seriously, just when I thought that he couldn't get any more annoying..."

"So I'm sending him on vacation so that something like that won't happen again," Tsuna informed Ryohei.

"The stupid cow doesn't know about this, though, so don't mention anything to him," Reborn added in.

"Knowing Lambo, he'd probably throw a tantrum and start crying again," Tsuna sighed. "This is easier than having to deal with that."

_'Ah, so that's it,'_ Lambo thought bitterly as he silently moved away from the door and started walking down the hall. _'Figures... I haven't even thrown any tantrums in years now...'_ He quickly shoved away his bitter thoughts, though, and moved on to thinking about his old Ten-Year-Bazooka. _'Well...at least they have a somewhat good reason this time. But still, three whole weeks? That's a bit much. If they wanted to get rid of me for a while, they could at least say it to my face...'_

Sighing (he felt like he was doing that a lot lately), he continued to trudge down the hall.

If he had stayed, he would have heard the rest of the conversation.

"By the way, how long are you sending him away for, Tsuna?" Yamamato asked curiously.

"Three weeks," his boss responded, causing the Rain and Sun Guardians' eyes to widen in surprise.

"Eh? Three whole weeks? Is the meeting really going to take that long?"

"Don't question Juudaime's decision, Baseball Idiot! It's obviously so that we won't have to deal with him for a while! Right, Juudaime?" Gokudera asked, his expression turning from angry to puppy-like as he turned to his boss.

"Uh, no, not exactly," Tsuna said, sweatdropping.

"You have another reason?" Reborn asked, sounding almost surprised.

Tsuna nodded, his expression turning troubled. "I only noticed it after Lambo got switched out by the Bazooka, but... I don't know, It just seems like Lambo's acting differently than his child self."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, I only noticed it when I compared the two, but our Lambo seems...quieter, and maybe a bit depressed. I thought this vacation would help him out."

"Couldn't you have talked to him about it instead?" The hitman pressed on.

"I _want_ to, but...I just don't know _how_ to..." Tsuna sighed. "Every time I think about asking him what's wrong, I have no idea how to start! It just seems...awkward. It's like I barely know him anymore... I don't know what could have possibly made him act like this..."

"He's probably just trying to get attention! You shouldn't trouble yourself with him, Juudaime!" Gokudera shouted, not wanting his boss to get stressed out over the dumb cow.

"Now, now, Gokudera, calm down," Yamamato said, causing the Storm Guardian to glare at him. He expertly ignored said glare and looked at Tsuna. "When he comes back, we can all talk to him about it together, right?"

Their boss smiled in relief. "That sounds great. Thank you, Yamamato."

"Right!" Ryohei shouted, punching an arm up into the air. "We'll be sure to have an extreme talk with Lambo after he comes back from..." He trailed off. "...Where is he going again?"

"Shells Town," Tsuna informed him, causing his guardians to look at him with wide eyes.

"Shells Town? Isn't that a Marine base town? Is it really a good idea to send Lambo there?"

"Don't worry about that," Reborn said. "Marines deal with pirates, not the Mafia. He should be okay there."

"Still, it seems risky," Yamamato continued, a rare frown on his face.

Tsuna nodded. "I thought so too, but... Something tells me that sending him there will be good for him."

"That's probably your Hyper Intuition," Reborn supplied. "If you think that sending the stupid cow to Shells Town is the right decision, then you're most likely right."

Tsuna smiled and nodded, relieved that his choice had been the right one.

XXX

"So, this is the place, huh?" Lambo asked as he got off the ship and looked around the town. "Doesn't really seem that interesting." He muttered as he watched the various civilians coming in and out of ships.

Fuuta walked up to stand next to him and nodded. "Yep, this is Shells Town." He then took out a rather large bag and handed it to the cow-clad boy, who looked at it in confusion. "That's five weeks worth of money."

"Five?" Lambo asked, arching an eyebrow. "I thought I was only staying for three."

"You are," the other boy answered, giving him a reassuring smile. "Tsuna-nii was just afraid that you would blow through it too fast and gave you some more just in case."

"Is that right?" Lambo sighed (he really had to stop doing that) and stuffed the bag in one of his pockets.

"Oh, and if you want to get in contact with us for any reason, you can send a letter at this address," he added, handing the younger male a piece of paper.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Fuuta nodded before his expression grew concerned. "Really though, if you get in trouble with the Marines here then send us word immediately. We'll come get you as soon as we can."

The Lightning Guardian rolled his eyes. "Come on, Fuuta, what could _I_ possibly do that would get me the _Marine's_ attention?"

Fuuta laughed slightly at that. "I guess you're right. See you in three weeks, Lambo."

"See you," Lambo said, waving as the man went back into the ship, which then began to slowly leave the port.

Once the ship was a considerable distance away, he turned back to the town and frowned.

"Might as well look around, I guess. What a boring vacation this will be..."


	3. Mafioso Meets Pirate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually my first story, posted on my fanfiction account. I decided to start posting it here too, since I have most of my other fics on both ff and ao3 anyway. As this was my first fic, the first few chapters are kind of rough, in my opinion, as I was just getting started. I believe it gets better as it goes on, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

Despite his assurance to Fuuta, it took Lambo no more than fifteen minutes to find himself in some trouble.

He was just walking around, seeing the sights and minding his own business, when he found himself in a secluded part of th town. Turning around, he began to walk back the way he came when he found the path blocked by three unpleasant-looking individuals.

"Yare, yare, do you need something?" Lambo asked, arching an eyebrow.

One of the men, a rather rugged-looking one with dirty brown hair and a long scar near his right eye, smirked at him. "Hey, kid, we saw that other guy give you a bag full of cash, is that right?"

Lambo's eyes narrowed, realizing that they were talking about Fuuta. _'A mugging, huh?'_

One of the other men, a tanned, blonde man, pulled out a sword, pointing it towards him. "You'll hand that over to us if you know what's good for you," he snarled.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Lambo answered flatly, moving to walk past them. He may be the weakest of the guardians, but even he could take care of a few lowly thugs. This was nothing to be scared of.

"What was that?!" The third man, a big, bald guy, shouted as he and the others pulled out their own swords. "Do you have any idea what kind of situation you're in right now?!"

"Yare, yare," Lambo muttered, giving them his signature bored look with one eye closed. "I really don't want to deal with this. I'm supposed to be on vacation, you know?"

"Like we give a damn!" The scarred man, who seemed to be the ringleader of the group, exclaimed. "I-If you won't give us that money, then we'll take it from your corpse!"

Lambo arched an eyebrow. Did that guy just _stutter_? That was certainly strange. "You know, stuttering doesn't exactly make you look more threatening."

"That's it! Get him!" Ringleader, as Lambo had taken to temporarily calling him, shouted. And with that, he lunged at the young boy, the blonde and bald men, who Lambo decided to nickname Blondie and Baldie respectively, following suite.

Lambo's eyes narrowed as his Dying Will Flames started to crackle around his right hand, casting an emerald green light around it.

When it came to combat ability, he was severly behind the other guardians, as they never let him near any of their weapons and never offered to train him with them either. Dying Will Flames were something that they had no way of taking away from him, though. And although he was nowhere near their level when using said flames (since he lacked a proper teacher and all), he would still like to think that he could take care of a few muggers.

"Wh-What the?!" Blondie shouted as they all froze, staring at the electricity-like flames with a mix of shock, fear, and wonder. "What the hell is _that_?!"

"I-It's probably just some trick or something!" Ringleader shouted at them, though his tone was uncertain. "We _need_ that money, remember?!"

"R-Right!" Baldy and Blondie shouted as the three raised their swords and ran for him.

_'Right, I may be the weakest of the guardians,'_ Lambo thought as his flames became larger and brighter. _'But I'll prove that I can take care of myself!'_

XXX

Meanwhile, a few blocks down from the secluded area where the Lightning Guardian's fight was taking place, two newcomers to Shells Town were walking down the same path he had.

"Hey, Luffy-san," the shorter of the two whined. He was rather short for his age and had short pink hair, large blue-rimmed glasses, and wore a white and blue shirt and plain black pants. "Please, just forget about getting Zoro to join your crew!"

The second person was a boy with dark black hair covered by a straw hat and a scar under one of his eyes. He was dressed in a sleeveless red vest, blue shorts, and a pair of sandals. He grinned in response to his friend's statement. "I haven't decided _yet_. I have to see if he's a good guy!"

"He was arrested because he's a _bad_ guy!" The pink-haired boy shouted at him incredulously.

"I wonder if that Zoro guy is inside the base," the other boy, Luffy, continued on as if he hadn't heard him.

The effect was instantaneous. Everyone within hearing range paled as soon as that name left his lips. Both boys looked around in confusion as everyone backed away from them, looking terrified.

"I think it might be best if we don't mention Zoro's name around here," the pink-haired boy whispered to his companion, who just looked around in confusion.

"Eh?" Luffy mumbled as the smaller boy pushed him forward and they both walked far away from the scared and staring townspeople. "Well, whatever. Let's go to the Marine base. You wanna join them, right Coby?"

"Y-Yes, but I'm not sure I'm ready," the pink-haired boy, Coby, said, hurrying after Luffy as the other started walking off again. "I've heard that Captain Morgan is in command of this base."

And, just as had happened before, everyone in the area jumped away from them, positively terrified.

"Hahahaha! What a funny town!" Luffy laughed in response to their strange reactions as he and Coby continued on their way.

"This is weird, though!" Coby said worriedly, glancing back from time to time at the townspeople, who were still watching them warily. "I can understand being scared of Zoro, but why would they be scared of a Marine captain?"

"Maybe they just act like that for fun?" Luffy responded before something suddenly caught his attention, causing him to stop.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Coby shouted at him in irritation. He walked a couple more feet before stopping when he realized that Luffy wasn't following after him. He turned to see that the other was staring off towards a nearby gap between two buildings, which probably led to a dead end. "What's wrong, Luffy-san?"

"I hear something weird," the hat-wearing boy muttered, frowning.

"Really?" The smaller boy frowned and walked over to him before closing his eyes and trying to listen for whatever the other was hearing. "...Oh, I hear it too now! It sounds kind of like...electricity? That's strange... What do you think it is, Luffy-san? ...Luffy-san?"

There was no response. Coby opened his eyes back up only for them to widen when he realized that Luffy was no longer standing next to him. Panicking, he looked around wildly before quickly spotting him jogging over to the area where the strange noise was coming from.

"L-Luffy-san! Wait for me!"

XXX

Lambo easily sidestepped the three men as they lunged at him with their swords, his reflexes honed from all the years of dodging the bombs Gokudera threw at him whenever he made him angry (which wasn't really that distressing as the man did that to anyone who made him angry, even the other guardians).

Before the three could turn around, Lambo sent forth a current of his Lightning Flames towards them, hitting them each directly. The men howled in pain as the electricity shocked them for several moments before finally subsiding, leaving them falling towards the floor, smoking and unconscious.

"Well, that was...easy," Lambo muttered, looking down at them and sweatdropping. Considering this was his first real fight, he was expecting it to be a bit tougher than this. Either he was stronger than he thought, or these guys were complete weaklings. _'Second option. Definitely the second option,'_ he thought with a sigh, having no self-confidence to speak of. _'I bet the others wouldn't even_ need _to use their flames to take these guys out... Still, that was weird, though. They hesitated at the last moment, almost like they didn't_ want _to hurt me... Oh, I should probably check if they're okay.'_

Quickly walking over to them, he checked each of their pulses before making sure that he didn't do any lasting damage to them. Even if they were just a couple of low-life muggers, he didn't want to seriously hurt them. They _were_ technically civilians, after all, plus Tsuna had taught him from an early age that life was a precious thing.

"It looks like they're okay," he said in relief. "I should probably leave before they wake up, though..."

Turning around, he only managed to take two steps before freezing. Standing in front of him were two boys staring at him.

One of them was a short boy with pink hair who was staring at him with wide eyes, fear clear in them. The second one, a guy in a straw hat, was also staring at him with wide eyes. But instead of fear, they held wonder and child-like excitement. Lambo blinked at them and opened his mouth to say something when the straw-hat-wearing boy beat him to it.

"WHOA!" He shouted, all but jumping towards him. "That was so _cool_!"

Lambo could only blink and stare as the boy rushed over to him, the other one hesitantly following, looking at Lambo warily.

Now standing in front of him, the straw hat boy grinned widely and all but shouted, "I don't know who you are, but you've definitely gotta join my crew!"

"Crew?" Lambo asked, tilting his head in confusion. He knew that he should be wary, but this boy seemed harmless enough. And, considering his reaction at seeing Lambo's Dying Will Flames, he probably wasn't part of any Mafia family.

"Luffy-san, you can't just go around asking random people to join your crew!" The pink-haired boy shouted at the other boy, whose name Lambo now knew was Luffy. "Besides, this guy might be dangerous! Just look at what he did to those poor people!" He pointed at the three unconscious individuals with a trembling finger.

"Yare, yare, it's their own fault for trying to rob me," Lambo muttered. "Besides, I made sure not to seriously hurt them."

"O-Oh," the pink-haired boy said, surprise on his face. "S-Sorry, I just assumed..."

Luffy grinned at Lambo's statement. "So you're a good guy, then? Great! I _really_ want you to join my crew now!"

Lambo sweatdropped at the boy's enthusiasm. He really just wanted to get out of here and get these three weeks over with. "What 'crew' are you talking about exactly?"

"My pirate crew!" Luffy replied as if it were obvious. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be Pirate King!"

_'What a bizarre name...'_ The cow-clad boy thought to himself before his eyes widened when he processed the rest of that statement. "Wait, Pirate King?!" He shouted, his nonchalant demeanor disappearing.

"So how did you _do_ that anyway?" Luffy continued, ignoring his shock. "It was really, really cool!"

Lambo, in turn, ignored the boy's questions and turned to the other one. "Hey, is he serious? About becoming Pirate King?"

"Y-Yeah. I couldn't believe it either when he first said it... I-I'm Coby, by the way, and you are?"

"...Lambo," he answered, choosing not to give his last name. You can never be too careful, after all.

"Lambo? What a funny name!" Luffy remarked, laughing good naturedly.

"Look who's talking!" Lambo shouted back before sighing. "And, no, I'm not becoming a pirate."

Luffy's face immediately fell. "What? Why?"

"Why would anyone want to be a pirate? They're basically like these guys, except in the sea!" The cow-clad boy remarked, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the unconscious men.

"Hey, not all of them are like that! And I don't really care about money, I just wanna go on lots of adventures and find One Piece! So come with me, already!"

"I said no."

"I don't care. I've decided that I want you in my crew, and that's that!"

"No means no, dammit!" Lambo shouted, his calm demeanor completely gone at this point as he started to speed walk away from them. But, as Lambo would no doubt learn in the future, when Luffy wanted something, he usually got it.

"Hey, come on! I need a strong crew if I wanna go to the Grand Line, and you seem like you're pretty strong!"

Lambo froze in mid-step. Slowly, he turned back around to face Luffy. "...You think I'm strong?"

Luffy tilted his head to the side. "Well, yeah. I mean, not just anyone can do what you just did, right?"

The other boy scoffed at that. "The rest of my family can do the same thing," he said bitterly, glaring at the ground. "I'm a weakling compared to them... Go ask somebody else."

Luffy frowned at the expression the other made when talking about his family. He wasn't sure what made the other boy look so depressed when talking about them, but he decided that he didn't like it one bit.

Lambo seemed to take his silence as a sign to walk away, but the straw-hat boy quickly walked after him, Coby hurrying along.

"I'm going to make you part of my crew, no matter what you say!"


	4. Roronoa Zoro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually my first story, posted on my fanfiction account. I decided to start posting it here too, since I have most of my other fics on both ff and ao3 anyway. As this was my first fic, the first few chapters are kind of rough, in my opinion, as I was just getting started. I believe it gets better as it goes on, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

"Can you please stop following me?" Lambo sighed as he walked through the town, Luffy and the reluctant Coby close behind him.

"Nope!" Luffy replied cheerfully. "Not until you join my crew!"

"So you're just going to stalk me until I say yes?"

"That's right!"

"Well, isn't that just wonderful..." The black-haired boy sighed as he continued trudging along. _'Maybe if I just ignore him he'll get bored and go away...'_

"Luffy-san, maybe you should just leave Lambo-san alone," Coby finally spoke up. "I don't think he's going to change his mind..."

"I'm not leaving unless he comes with me!"

At this, Lambo finally stopped and turned to face him. "Why are you so dead set on getting me to join? I already told you, I'm not as strong as you think I am."

Luffy frowned at that statement, his tone becoming serious. "...If I want to become Pirate King, I need the strongest crew there is. So if you weren't strong, I wouldn't be asking you to join me so much!" He then grinned. "And if you think you're weak, then just become stronger."

"You make it sound easy," the other muttered.

"If you join me, then we'll fight all sorts of other pirates and Marines!" Luffy continued. "So you'll have no choice but to get stronger, right?"

"...You really think I can get stronger?" Lambo asked, eyes slightly wide, watching the other nod in confirmation.

He had never heard a statement like that directed at him. The only thing that came close was when his "family" told him to stop being so weak, but even then he could tell from their expressions that they didn't believe he could ever actually do it. But this weird boy who just came out of nowhere said it and seemed to honestly believe it.

Despite himself, Lambo couldn't help but let a small laugh escape his lips. "You're an interesting guy...Luffy, was it?"

"Yeah!" The other grinned widely at the cow-boy's change in demeanor. Before he could say anything else, though, they both heard a gasp come from Coby.

They turned to see the boy staring at the building they were passing with wide eyes, disbelief and happiness clear in them. Lambo followed his gaze only for his eyes to widen when he saw that they were now standing in front of the Marine base. He was so focused on getting away from Luffy that he hadn't even noticed where he had ended up.

"Th-The Marine base! I'm finally here!" He exclaimed, looking like he was seconds away from crying in joy. "I-I can't believe it!"

"Eh? I didn't expect a pirate to be so excited about seeing a Marine base," Lambo stated, looking over the admittedly strangely-shaped building.

"Oh, no, I'm not a pirate," Coby responded quickly, shaking his head.

Lambo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" He turned to look at Luffy. "And here I thought you forced this guy into your crew, too."

"Coby's dream is to become a Marine, so of course I won't force him to be a pirate!" Luffy exclaimed, pouting at the accusation.

"A Marine?" The cow-clad boy repeated, turning back to look at Coby. "What's a wannabe Marine doing hanging out with a wannabe Pirate King?"

"Well, you see, Luffy-san saved my life," Coby answered, his expression brightening.

"Saved your life?"

"Yeah. Before I met Luffy-san, I was working as a cabin boy for this pirate named Alvida," his expression grew bitter at the memory, Lambo noticed. "For two years, I had to work for her like a slave so that she would let me live...but then," his eyes lit up. "But then Luffy-san came! He beat up Alvida and I was finally able to escape! It still feels like I'm in a dream..."

"Ah, so that's what happened..." Lambo said, wincing. _'And I thought_ I _had it bad...'_

"And now, I'm finally at the Marine base!" Coby exclaimed, tears of happiness gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Luffy-san," he started, now addressing the other boy. "I know that we've only known each other for a short time, but thank you so much! I'll never forget you!"

"I don't think he's listening to you, Coby."

"Huh?"

"Hey, I can see someone!"

Coby's eyes widened in shock when he saw that his companion had climbed up the wall surrounding the base and was peeking over it. "L-Luffy-san, what are you doing?! Get down from there!"

"I wonder if that's Zoro?" Luffy continued, ignoring his friend's panic as Lambo, out of curiosity, climbed up as well to have a look.

"Not you too, Lambo-san!"

"Who's Zoro?" Lambo asked, reaching the top of the wall and following the other's gaze.

"A pirate hunter, or something," Luffy replied in an off-handed way as Coby struggled to make his way up to them as well.

"It can't be Zoro," He replied, slightly out of breath from the climb. "He's probably being kept somewhere deep inside the base or something. There's no way they'd just leave him outside for all to see- _huh?!_ "

Coby's jaw dropped open, his face rapidly becoming paler than was healthy.

"...I take it that's Zoro," Lambo said, noticing the smaller boy's reaction.

"Th-Th-Th-That's definitely h-him..."

In the middle of the enclosed area between the wall and the base was a man tied to a wooden pole, looking almost as if he was crucified to it. The man was tanned and muscular, wearing a white shirt and dark green pants along with a haramaki over his hips. A black bandanna covered his head, but they could see a few strands of light green hair peeking out from under it. Upon closer inspection, they could see that the man was dirty and covered in cuts and bruises.

_'A bandanna, a haramaki, and the look of a demon... That's definitely him...Roronoa Zoro!'_ Coby thought to himself, staring at the man in fear.

"If we untie him, he'll be able to escape," Luffy remarked with a grin, making Coby turn to stare at him in disbelief.

"Don't be stupid, Luffy-san! If you untie him, he'll probably kill you!"

"He won't. I'm strong!"

"Ah, I think he heard you," Lambo remarked, causing the other two to quickly look back at the pirate hunter.

The man was indeed looking in their direction, not even bothering to conceal his glare. "You three, get lost," he said in a dark tone. "You're an eyesore."

Coby yelped and scooted closer to Luffy for protection. "L-Luffy-san!" He whispered urgently. "There's no way that demon will become your crew member! Please, let's just go!"

"You're trying to get _that_ guy in your crew, too?" Lambo whispered in surprise, unnerved by the glare they were receiving from the man. "You realize he's a pirate _hunter_ , right? There's a big difference between a pirate and a pirate hunter."

"Eh? Really?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes, really!" Lambo snapped. _'What is with this guy?!'_

"Um, guys?" Coby spoke up, trying to get their attention.

Both boys turned to look at him questioningly only to be surprised when they realized that there was now a fourth person on the wall with them.

Right next to Coby, having climbed up using a wooden ladder, was a little girl with pig-tails and a blue dress. The girl looked around the area before turning to them, putting her finger to her lips in the universal sign for "be quiet." The three only stared as she tied a rope to the end of the ladder and used it to climb down, carrying something covered up by a small blanket in her arms.

Coby stared after her in confusion before his eyes widened in horror when he realized she was running towards the tied up pirate hunter. "Oh, no! L-Luffy-san, Lambo-san, somebody stop her! Zoro's gonna kill her!"

"Yare, yare, he's tied up, remember?" Lambo stated, examining Zoro. "It doesn't look like he's got any weapons on him, either."

"Wait, what?" The pink-haired boy stopped panicking somewhat and looked closer at Zoro. "That's strange, he's supposed to have a katana with him..."

Zoro chose to ignore the three boys and turned his full attention to the little girl, who was smiling up at him. "What do you want, kid?"

"I thought you might be hungry, so I made you some rice balls," the girl responded cheerfully, removing the blanket she was holding to reveal the somewhat messy, but still delicious-looking food.

"...You're gonna get yourself killed, kid. Beat it."

"But you haven't eaten anything in three weeks... This is my first time making them, but I tried really, really hard, so I'm sure they're good!" The girl continued, smiling brightly and holding the food out to him.

The man looked momentarily surprised before he quickly hardened his expression into a glare. "I'm not hungry! Now get the hell out of here!"

The girl's smile wavered. "B-But I..."

"I don't want any! Don't make me have to hurt you!"

"He's being a bit harsh," the cow-clad boy muttered as he watched the exchange.

"See, Luffy-san?" Coby told his straw-hat-wearing friend, who was still watching the two. "He's a bad guy! You'll die if someone like that joins your crew!"

"Whether he's a good guy or a bad guy, I don't think anyone would refuse food after starving for three weeks," the cow-clad boy answered, narrowing his eyes. "It feels like there's something else going on here."

"Shame on you, Zoro! You shouldn't bully little kids!"

"Look, another weirdo showed up," Luffy said as the three turned their attention towards the new voice.

Lambo had seen a lot of strange-looking individuals in his days, but this guy had to take the cake. The man was skinny and lanky and had blonde hair that looked as if someone had put a bowl over his head and cut around it. He wore an expensive looking _purple_ suit and a cocky grin was imprinted on his face as he walked towards the girl and the pirate hunter, a pair of Marines following close behind.

As he stared at him, Lambo immediately came to the conclusion that he did _not_ like him.

"You've got more fight in you than I expected, Zoro," he said in a disgustingly arrogant voice.

"Thank goodness," Coby sighed in relief. "Now that the Marines are here, that little girl is safe..."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Lambo remarked, causing the pink-haired boy to look at him in confusion.

"Hey, those rice balls look pretty good," the blonde man said as he snatched one of the rice balls out of the little girl's plate and shoved it into his mouth.

The girl's eyes widened as she watched the man eat the rice ball she had tried so hard to make for Zoro. "H-Hey! Those aren't for you!"

The blonde's face immediately twisted into a disgusted expression as he quickly spat out the rice ball onto the ground. "UGH! These are too sweet!" He turned and glared at the child, who took a step back in fear. "You're supposed to put salt in these things, you idiot!"

"B-But I thought it would taste better sweet..." The little girl muttered, looking close to crying, before yelping in pain when the man slapped the remaining rice ball out of her hands, letting it fall onto the dirty ground. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the man begin to stomp on the food, rubbing it into the dirt. "Stop! Please!" She shouted, but was unable to do anything without risking her hands being stomped on.

"Th-That's horrible..." Coby whispered, staring at the scene with wide eyes. "How could the Marines do something like that?"

Lambo couldn't help but feel bad for the other boy. For someone who dreamed of becoming a Marine, it must be difficult to watch them act like this.

"Coby," he said, waiting until the boy turned to him and looking him in the eyes. "You're too naive."

Coby's eyes widened. "H-Huh?"

"Just because they're Marines doesn't automatically mean they're good people," the cow-clad boy continued. As a member of what was essentially a criminal organiation, he knew this fact well. "The world is a complicated place, it's not just black and white. If you become a Marine, you'll have to deal with people like this guy." He gestured at the blonde man.

"L-Lambo-san..."

"I-I worked so hard to make those..." The girl hiccuped, tears spilling from her eyes.

The blonde grimaced and pointed over to a board near the entrance of the Marine base. "Haven't you read that sign? 'Anyone who attempts to aid a criminal will be executed. Signed, Marine Captain Morgan,'" he read, smirking when he saw the child pale. "Even stupid little brats know about my daddy."

"Daddy?" Luffy asked, frowning.

"D-Does that mean he's Captain Morgan's son?" Coby mumbled.

"With a son like that, I can only imagine what the father must be like," Lambo sighed.

"You," the blonde said, turning to one of the Marines behind him. "Toss this brat over the wall."

The man's eyes widened at the order. "B-But sir, she's just a little kid!"

"Are you deaf?!" The man snarled. "I said toss her over the wall! If you don't do what I say, I'll tell Daddy!"

The Marine winced at this and slowly walked over to the girl, who was taking step after step back in fear. "I'm sorry, little girl," he whispered, causing her eyes to widen. "Tuck yourself into a ball, alright?"

The three boys watched in shock as the man lifted the girl up and threw her into the air. Coby, probably out of panic, lost his grip on the wall and started tumbling down. Lambo, knowing that a fall from this height could break someone's neck if they were unlucky enough, quickly grabbed onto him. As a result, he didn't see how Luffy caught the little girl, only turning back in time to watch him fall onto the ground, the child clutched protectively to his chest.

"Th-Thank you, Lambo-san," Coby said as the boy helped him back onto the wall before they both climbed down.

"Luffy, are you and the girl okay?" Lambo asked as they hurried over to the two. Much to his relief, it looked like neither was hurt by the fall.

"Thank you, mister," the girl said to Luffy, who grinned in response.

"Don't mention it."

"Are you okay, little girl? What a terrible person... Does it hurt anywhere?" Coby asked in worry, not noticing Luffy stand up and hurry back over to the wall, easily climbing back up. Lambo, curious to see what would happen next, followed.

"You son of a bitch..." They heard Zoro mutter, glaring daggers at the blonde, who just laughed it off.

"You sure are stubborn to have survived for this long, Zoro."

"Yeah, I'll make it through the whole month," the pirate hunter snarled at him. "There's only ten days left..."

"If you can survive for that long!" The man laughed again, already walking away with the Marines.

Luffy waited until they were gone before jumping over the wall and walking towards Zoro. Lambo didn't stop him, wanting to see what he would do.

"How could they do something so horrible, Luffy-san, Lambo-san?" Coby muttered, turning around only to be surprised when he saw that they were gone. "Huh? L-Luffy-san? Lambo-san?"

"Up here," the green-eyed boy called, earning a sigh of relief from him.

"Oh, good... Wait, where's Luffy-san?"

"Talking to Zoro."

"Oh... EH?!"

Lambo ignored the boy's panicked screech and watched the scene before him in interest.

"They say you're a bad guy," Luffy told Zoro, who just glared at him.

"You're still here?"

"They left you tied up here for all to see... Are you really that strong?"

"Mind your own business!"

"I would have escaped in three days," the straw-hat-boy continued, grinning and walking closer.

At this, Zoro smirked, looking every bit the dangerous pirate hunter that he was. "I've got more willpower than you ever will! I'll definitely survive this!"

"Really? Suite yourself, then," Luffy replied, turning to leave.

"Hold on!" Zoro suddenly shouted, making the black-haired boy look back. The man turned his head towards the ruined rice ball. "Can you give that to me?"

"You're gonna eat this?" Luffy asked, bending down and picking up the lump of rice and dirt. "It's more dirt than food now..."

"Just shut up and give it to me!" Zoro shouted, losing his composure and acting like what he was, a man who had been starved for three entire weeks.

Luffy just shrugged and tossed the food into his mouth, watching as the man chewed and swallowed it only to begin coughing up dirt. "Told ya so."

"...It was good."

"Hm?"

"Tell that girl...I said thanks."

Luffy smiled at that, a soft smile rather than his usual blinding grin. Apparently, he got what he needed from that response.'

Lambo couldn't help but smile as well. _'I've sure met some interesting people today...'_


	5. Captain Morgan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually my first story, posted on my fanfiction account. I decided to start posting it here too, since I have most of my other fics on both ff and ao3 anyway. As this was my first fic, the first few chapters are kind of rough, in my opinion, as I was just getting started. I believe it gets better as it goes on, but I'll let you be the judge of that.
> 
> The world this takes place in is kind of a combination of KHR and One Piece. Namimori is it's own island, as one example. As such, the OP world will encompass the KHR world, and so some events from KHR will be different or may not have happened at all. I'll reveal more on the KHR story within this universe as it becomes necessary, but it isn't really the main point of this fic, so don't expect a lot of it. For now, at least, I may change my mind and have it be a bigger thing as I go on.

"R-Really?" The little girl, whose name they now knew was Rika, asked in elated disbelief.

"Yeah, he ate all of it," Luffy remarked as the four of them walked towards a restaurant that was apparently run by the girl's mother.

"He said it was pretty good, too," Lambo added as they stopped in front of the entrance.

"I'm so happy!"

"Is Zoro really as evil as people say he is?" Coby asked gloomily. The scene he witnessed with the Marines and Lambo's words to him had really woken him up to reality.

"No, he's not!" Rika shouted, causing them to look at her in surprise. "He got tied up for us..."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

"It's all that stupid Helmeppo's fault!"

"Yet another bizarre name..." Lambo sighed. "I take it that's that purple bowl-head's name?" He asked, causing Luffy to snicker.

The girl couldn't help but giggle as well at Lambo's decided description for the man. "Yeah, that's him. He's Captain Morgan's son."

"So what happened? Why did Purple Bowl-Head tie Zoro up like that?" Lambo continued.

"Um, Lambo-san, why are you still calling him that when you know his name now?" Coby asked.

The other boy shrugged. "People like him don't deserve to be called by their names, no matter how stupid those names are."

"I-I see..." Coby muttered. _'Lambo-san is a pretty weird guy, too...'_

"Three weeks ago..." The girl spoke up, the three boys turning their full attention to her as she began her story. "Helmeppo was walking through the town with his pet wolf, scaring all the townspeople. The wolf tried to attack me, but Mr. Zoro killed it with his sword. After that, Helmeppo threatened him, but Mr. Zoro is a lot stronger than him, so instead he said that he was going to execute me and my mom unless he agreed to be tied up for a month in our place..."

"So that's what happened..." Coby mumbled, looking even more dejected than before.

"Helmeppo keeps kicking and punching him while he's tied up there!" The girl continued, burying her face in her hands to try and hide her tears. "I-I don't know what to do..."

"...Yare, yare, these aren't the kinds of things a little kid should be worrying about," Lambo sighed, patting the girl's head as she looked at him in confusion. "Just leave Zoro to us."

"E-Eh? Really?" Rika stuttered in disbelief, hope shining in her eyes.

"So you're gonna help? Great!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly. "You've definitely got a spot on my crew!"

"I haven't agreed to anything yet," the cow-boy denied. This only caused Luffy's grin to grow even bigger.

"Ha! Yet! You said yet!"

"It's a figure of speech..." The cow-clad boy mumbled as he pushed the restaurant's door open.

As soon as the four were inside, the three boys froze. Sitting at a table in the restaurant, covered in bandages, were three very familiar people. The men noticed them as well and had a similar reaction.

There was complete silence for what felt like an hour, but was in reality a few seconds. Lambo blinked and pointed at them, the three men copying the motion.

"IT'S YOU!" The four shouted in unison, their yell resounding across the empty restaurant.

"Um, d-do you know each other?" Coby asked the older boy as he examined the three men.

They looked kind of familiar... Their defining features were that one had a scar, one was blonde, and the other was bald. His eyes widened when he realized who they were.

"H-Hey! Those are the ones who attacked you, Lambo-san!" The pink-haired boy stuttered, quickly hiding behind Luffy, who just blinked in confusion, already having forgotten who the three were.

"Yeah, that's them," Lambo muttered, glaring at the three, who cowered away from him.

"I-It's the lightning monster!" Blondie whispered as the three stared at Lambo in absolute terror, practically trembling in fear.

"Oi, who the heck are you calling a monster?" Lambo mumbled, eye twitching in irritation.

"Rika! There you are!"

A woman in a light green dress over a dark green shirt quickly rushed towards them. She had brown hair much like Rika and blue eyes. It didn't take them long to realize that this was the girl's mother.

She gave the girl a hug, obviously relieved that she was okay, before moving back and giving her a motherly don't-make-me-worry-like-that-again glare. "Rika, you were sneaking off to see Zoro again, weren't you?!"

Rika looked down guiltily. "Y-Yes... I'm sorry, Mom.. B-But he hasn't eaten in weeks! I had to do _something_!"

The woman sighed after a moment and gently patted her daughter's head. "I know how you feel, Rika. But if the Marines catch you, who knows what Captain Morgan will do..."

"Sorry..." The girl repeated, looking down.

The woman, seeing that her daughter understood, turned to the three newcomers. "Thank you for bringing my daughter back. May I ask what your names are?"

"I'm Coby," the shortest of them introduced. "And this is Luffy-san and Lambo-san."

The three men, who had just been staring at Lambo in terror the entire time, stood up. "Th-This is the guy who attacked us! The guy with the lightning!" Ringleader shouted, pointing his trembling finger at Lambo.

" _You're_ the ones who tried to rob me," Lambo snapped back as the woman rounded on the three men.

" _What_?! You were trying to _rob_ this boy?!" The woman shouted at them, causing them to flinch and step back. Apparently this was news to her. She took a closer look at Lambo, who stepped back in slight fear (women were freaking scary...) before turning back to the three, her glare even stronger than before. "For God's sake, he looks like he's only sixteen!"

"Actually, I'm fifteen," Lambo spoke up quietly from behind her.

"That makes it even _worse_! Apologize to this boy right now!"

"B-But, Ririka, we weren't going to actually _hurt_ him-"

_"Now."_

The other people in the room (except for Luffy, who noticed some forgotten meat on one of the tables and began chowing down) shuddered. The fact that she didn't yell out that last word somehow made it even more terrifying.

"W-We're sorry..." The three men mumbled to Lambo, bowing slightly, more likely out of fear than genuine guilt.

"...It's fine, I guess..." The young boy sighed, walking over and sitting at the same table as Luffy. He'd seen some pretty nasty stuff that other Mafia families had done, so someone trying to rob him wasn't really that big a deal for him, especially since they didn't even really hurt anyone. "Well, I was right about one thing, you three don't seem like the mugger type. So who are you, anyway?"

The three seemed uncertain about answering the boy, but they quickly lost that choice when Ririka spoke up. "Here, I'll introduce you," she said, ignoring the men's protests. She pointed at the men who Lambo had dubbed Ringleader, Blondie, and Baldy, introducing them in turn. "This is Merit, Easton, and Gordy. They all work in this restaurant with me. They're also my brothers."

"Your brothers?" Luffy asked, looking at the men with new interest.

"So that means they're your uncles, Rika?" Coby asked, causing the girl to smile and nod. "But why would they try to rob Lambo-san?"

At this, the little girl grimaced. "It's all Captain Morgan's fault! He makes everyone pay a lot of money to him every month, and now our restaurant is going out of business!"

"Come to think of it, this place is pretty empty," Lambo noticed. "What happened to all your customers?"

Ririka sighed. "Our customers are having their own financial problems because of the monthly tributes to Captain Morgan. This place is our only means of making money. At this rate, we won't even be able to keep our house, let alone pay the tribute..."

"Listen, kid," Easton spoke up, causing Lambo to look at him. "We really didn't mean to hurt you or anything, but without that money our sister and niece will end up living out in the streets! We couldn't let that happen!"

"So _please_ don't electrecute us again!" Gordy, the apparent coward of the group, spoke up, looking at him warily.

Lambo stared at the dejected family for a moment before looking down. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. His family was one of the richest of all Mafia families. Things like losing his house and being forced to live on the streets never really occured to him. He knew that it happened to some people, but had never given it much thought until now. Exactly how was this family going to survive in the future? And he didn't think that this Morgan guy would react well to a family of homeless people in his town that couldn't pay tribute. Would he force them to leave? Or worse, would he-

His thoughts were cut short when the door of the restaurant slammed open. The eight people in the room quickly turned towards it, only to freeze when they saw a very familiar person walking towards one of the tables, two Marines following after him.

_'Great, it's this guy again...,'_ Lambo thought, moving slightly to block the men's view of Rika.

Helmeppo sat at one of the chairs and placed both feet on the table, smirking. "Hey, you," he said to Ririka, who flinched. "Bring me a plate of your finest food. For free, of course. And bring me some wine! Make it quick, or I'll tell my daddy!"

Luffy watched with a blank expression as Gordy quickly filled a glass with wine and Easton started taking ingredients out of the storage room. Coby was watching worriedly while Lambo just looked on in plain disgust at how Helmeppo was acting.

"Oh, that's right," the bowl-haired man continued. "Since I've gotten bored of this little game, I've decided to execute Zoro tomorrow." He laughed, oblivious to the horrified looks he was receiving. "Get ready for a great show, everyone!"

Lambo was about ready to electrocute the guy. But before he could even think about calling out his Lightning flames, Luffy suddenly shot forward, almost a blur as he slammed his fist into the blonde's face, sending him flying out of his chair and crashing into the wall while everyone else just stared in shock.

The two Marines hurried to help Helmeppo up while the blonde clutched his bruised cheek, staring wide-eyed at Luffy. "Wh-Who the hell are you?!"

Seeing Luffy about to lunge at the blonde again, Coby quickly grabbed onto him. "L-Luffy-san, stop! You'll get in trouble with the Marines!"

"This guy's _scum_!" The other boy continued, looking like he wanted nothing more than to leave a giant dent in the man's face.

"Y-You punched me!" Helmeppo continued incredulously. "I'm Captain Morgan's son!"

"Yare, yare," Lambo said. Though his voice was nonchalant, the intensity of his glare made the man flinch. "Using your father's name like that may scare the townspeople, but it won't work on us."

"I-I'LL HAVE HIM EXECUTE YOU!"

"Why don't you fight me yourself?!" Luffy yelled after him as the man and his two Marines hurried out of the restaurant.

"Luffy-san, Lambo-san, please stop!" Coby begged.

"I've made my decision!" Luffy said as he stopped struggling, prompting the two boys to look at him in confusion. "I'm definitely making Zoro one of my nakama!"

XXX

Meanwhile, at the Marine base, a certain man was staring out the window. "I...am great."

"Yes, Sir! You are, Captain Morgan sir!" The Marine in the room shouted in confirmation, saluting the man.

"And yet, the tributes to me have been decreasing lately..."

The Marine faltered a bit. "W-Well, Sir, the townspeople only have so much money, a-and they need some for themselves, too..."

"No, the problem is that they don't have enough respect for me. Isn't that right?"

"I-I..."

Luckily, the Marine didn't have to answer, because just then the door burst open, revealing a certain blonde man clutching his injured cheek.

"Daddy!"

"What is it, Helmeppo?"

"There are some people I want you to kill!"

XXX

"I'm very sorry," Ririka said as she lead the three boys to the door. "I'm very grateful to you for bringing my daughter back, but if Helmeppo thinks that we're on your side..."

"We understand," Lambo said, putting a hand up to stop her. "You have to protect your family, right?"

The woman smiled in relief and nodded. "Yes, thank you... Rika, say goodbye, okay?"

Rika, who was standing behind the woman with her uncles, looked at the boys sadly. "Goodbye..."

"Alright! Let's go save Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed, looking ready to bolt off any second.

Lambo nodded. "Right. First thing's first, though." The others watched in confusion as Lambo reached inside his pocket and pulled out a bag. "Here," he said, tossing it over to Merit, who caught it clumsily.

He peeked into the bag only for his eyes to widen in shock. "Th-This is..."

"That's what you wanted, right?" The cow-boy asked, tilting his head to the side. "It's not much, but it'll help. You need it a lot more than I do."

"B-But this is all the money you have, right?" Easton protested as the others looked into the bag and had similar reactions. "We can't accept this!"

Lambo arched an eyebrow. "Weren't you trying to rob me earlier? Just take it. I'll find another way to make money."

"Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!" Ririka exclaimed, her eyes shiny as she and her brothers bowed.

"This is a bit embarrassing... Don't worry about it, okay?" With that, Lambo turned and looked at the other two. Coby was watching him with wide eyes and Luffy with a blank expression. After a moment, the cow-boy frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, directing his question at Luffy.

The straw-hat-wearing boy grinned. "I was right! You _are_ a nice guy! Hurry up and agree to join my crew, alright?"

_'The sad thing is, I'm actually starting to consider it,'_ Lambo thought to himself, sighing as he followed after them.


	6. The Man Who Will be Pirate King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually my first story, posted on my fanfiction account. I decided to start posting it here too, since I have most of my other fics on both ff and ao3 anyway. As this was my first fic, the first few chapters are kind of rough, in my opinion, as I was just getting started. I believe it gets better as it goes on, but I'll let you be the judge of that.
> 
> The world this takes place in is kind of a combination of KHR and One Piece. Namimori is it's own island, as one example. As such, the OP world will encompass the KHR world, and so some events from KHR will be different or may not have happened at all. I'll reveal more on the KHR story within this universe as it becomes necessary, but it isn't really the main point of this fic, so don't expect a lot of it. For now, at least, I may change my mind and have it be a bigger thing as I go on.

After leaving the restaurant, Luffy had run off towards the base, shouting at the other two to hurry up as he left them behind. Lambo sighed and followed after him, his longer legs causing him to quickly leave Coby behind.

He pondered for a moment whether to stop and wait for him to catch up, but quickly decided against it. He was sure Coby knew his way back to the base. And besides, Luffy was the one who actually needed someone to come with him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid. From what Lambo had seen so far, Luffy was definitely the "jump first, think later" type of character.

By the time he got there and climbed to the other side of the wall, Luffy was already there, talking to Zoro.

"You again?" The man sneered. "Don't you have anyone else to bother?"

"I'm gonna untie you, and then you'll become my nakama," Luffy declared with a kind of certainty that Lambo had rarely seen even Reborn pull off.

Zoro gave him a look of confusion. "What?"

"I'm looking for nakama to join my pirate crew."

"Like hell!" Zoro immediately responded, giving the boy a death glare. "You want me to lower myself to the level of those scum? Fat chance..."

Luffy frowned. "What's wrong with being a pirate?"

"They're the scum of the earth! Who'd want to be that?"

"By that logic, I suppose you're saying that Marines are the exact opposite, right?" Lambo spoke up as he walked towards them, prompting them to look at him.

Zoro sent him a glare, but didn't say anything.

"And everyone already thinks you're some evil villain, anyway," Luffy added in. "So what difference does it make if you're a pirate or not?"

The green-haired man scoffed before smirking. "I don't care what society thinks of me. I've never done a single thing I've regretted. I'm going to survive this and fulfill my dream!"

"Oh, I see," Luffy said with a nod before he grinned and crossed his arms. "But I've already decided that you'll be my nakama."

"You didn't even ask!" Zoro shouted at him incredulously before turning to Lambo, who had just rolled his eyes at the statement. "Is he always like this?"

"From what I've seen, yes," Lambo sighed. "So where's your weapon? You use a katana, right?"

Zoro frowned. "Yeah, but that Marine's bastard son took everything I had."

"No problem. We'll just get it back for you," Luffy declared, causing the other man to look at him with wide eyes.

"What?"

"But if you want it, you'll have to join my crew!" The straw-hat boy laughed before running towards the base, giving a shout of, "Come on, Lambo!"

"H-Hey, you two aren't really going to bust in there all by yourselves, are you?" Zoro asked with wide eyes.

Lambo shrugged. "Well, Luffy already took off, so I can't really say no now, can I? We'll be back as soon as we can." And with that, he took off, leaving the swordsman staring after him.

XXX

Meanwhile, on the roof, Morgan stood and watched as his men struggled to pull up an enormous statue made to represent himself.

Morgan was a giant monster of a man with tanned skin and blonde hair the same hue as his son's, and he was wearing the uniform of a high-ranking Marine. The disturbing features about him were that his lower jaw was covered in metal and one of his arms had been replaced with a deadly metal axe.

"Daddy!" Helmeppo whined. "Why aren't you going after those guys?! One of them punched me! Even _you've_ never hit me before!"

"...That's right, I haven't," Morgan stated, not turning around. "And do you know _why_?"

"H-Huh? W-Well, it's because I'm your-"

"It's because you're..." Morgan interrupted, whirling around and clipping the side of his son's face with his one real hand, sending him flying to the other side of the roof. "Not even _worth_ hitting! You're a disgrace!"

Helmeppo squirmed as his father walked towards him, a demonic expression on his face.

"Let's get one thing straight," Morgan grabbed his son by the front of his shirt and forced him to look him in the eyes. "Your father is the one who's great. _Not_ you, understand?" Seeing his son give a shaky nod, he let him go, letting him fall onto the cold, stone ground. "I heard someone snuck into the crucifixion yard today."

"H-Her? That kid? I took care of her!"

"Did you kill her?"

Helmeppo's eyes widened. "N-No! She's just a little girl!"

Morgan gave him a look of disgust before turning to one of his Marines. "You, go into town, find that girl, and execute her."

"I-I can't do that! She's just a child! I cannot follow that order, Captain!"

"Age doesn't matter! Anyone who disobeys my order is a traitor! Now, do as you're told!"

"I... I cannot!"

There was no warning. Morgan's axe tore through the flesh of the man's torso as he was sent crumbling to the floor, a rapidly growing pool of blood forming underneath him.

"Y-You killed him!" Helmeppo shouted as he and the Marines stared at the fallen man in horror.

"Listen up!" He shouted at all of them. "I've reached the rank of Captain thanks to this arm. Your title means everything in this world! As the highest-ranking Marine in this base, I am the greatest man here! Therefore, everything I do is just! Isn't that right?"

"Y-Yes, Sir!"

"I'll kill that kid later," he declared before turning back to the statue. "This statue is a symbol of my power! Now, erect it! It will occupy the highest point of this base!"

XXX

"That's weird, there's nobody around here," Luffy remarked as he ran around the length of the building.

Lambo finally had enough of all the running around he had been forced to do to follow Luffy and grabbed the other by the shoulder, forcing him to stop. "Luffy, even if you find a Marine, there's no way that they would just lead you to their captain!" He said in frustration.

"Really?" Luffy asked, looking genuinely surprised by the statement.

"Yes, really!" Lambo shouted before sighing. Now that he no longer had to struggle to keep up with the other boy, he looked around and frowned. "Still, it's pretty weird that there isn't a single guard around. I wonder if they're doing something inside?"

Luffy looked up and frowned. "I hear shouting coming from up there."

Lambo blinked and followed his gaze up to the roof. "Really? That must be where they all are, then. We should probably avoid going up there."

"But they might know where Zoro's sword is!" Luffy protested. "I think we should have a look!"

"Don't be stupid, they'll attack us the moment we get there," the other boy protested. Seeing that Luffy wasn't going to be swayed, however, he resolved to use a different tactic. "The base is probably locked up anyway, so how would you even get up there?"

"I'll just blow the door down."

"It's made of pure metal! You'll just end up hurting yourself!"

"No way! I'm strong!"

Lambo groaned. "Let's just...find another way, alright?" He asked, calming himself down.

"Alright, I know another way to get up there!"

"I meant another way to get Zoro's sword," Lambo stated, but the other boy was no longer listening.

"Gomu Gomu no..." Luffy began.

"What are you..." Lambo trailed off as Luffy's arm began to _stretch_ , reaching the very top of the building and grabbing onto the ledge of the roof.

Lambo stared for a moment, closed his eyes, counted to five, and opened them again.

Nope, he wasn't hallucinating.

_'What the hell?'_

Luffy seemed to take the fact that Lambo's hand was still on his shoulder as a sign that he wanted to come, too. With his free arm, he grabbed Lambo tightly around the waist.

"ROCKET!"

As the wind rushed past him and the ground grew farther and farther away, only one thought made it through Lambo's dazed mind.

_'I have no idea what's going on anymore.'_

XXX

One broken statue and kidnapping later, the two boys were running down one of the halls of the base.

Finally breaking out of his stupor, Lambo glanced at Luffy (who was dragging a screaming and whining Helmeppo) and shouted. "Hey, Luffy, what the hell _was_ that?!"

"What?" Luffy asked, looking back at him in confusion.

"Your arm! How did you make it do that?!"

"Oh, that." Luffy grinned at him. "I'm a rubberman!"

Lambo just stared at the grinning boy in complete disbelief before finally letting out a sigh. He had seen many strange things during his time with the Vongola Family. And although a man made of rubber was a bit much even for their standards, he was able to bounce back fairly quickly.

"I'm definitely going to need an explanation for this one later." Seeing Luffy nod, he turned his attention to the man currently being dragged across the floor. "Hey, Purple Bowl-Head, where's Zoro's sword?"

"Wh-What did you just call me?!" The blonde asked in outrage. "Ow! Stop dragging me!"

"Only if you tell us where the sword is!" Luffy shouted back.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Please, just _stop_!"

The straw-hat boy finally stopped running, frowning down at the barely conscious man. "Okay, where is it?"

Helmeppo weakly pointed in the opposite direction from where they were running. "It's in my room... You just passed it..."

Luffy frowned and bonked the man on the head, earning a yelp of pain. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Now we'll have to drag you all the way back," Lambo added in, causing the man to let out a yell of protest.

"FREEZE!"

"Well, this isn't good," Lambo muttered as he and Luffy turned to face a group of three Marines, all pointing guns at them.

"Release Helmeppo-sama!"

"What now, Luffy?" The cow-clad boy asked, only for his eyes to widen in surprise and slight amusement when Luffy lifted Helmeppo up and held him in front of them, like a human shield.

"No. But if you still wanna shoot, go ahead."

Helmeppo's eyes widened in shock and horror. "Ah! No! Stop! DON'T SHOOT!"

And with that, Luffy and Lambo went barreling past the Marines, the blond screaming all the way.

XXX

"Please escape, Zoro-san!" Coby said, struggling to undo the knots holding Zoro's right arm in place.

"Hey! If you untie me, they'll kill you!" Zoro said urgently, looking around to make sure that no one saw them.

"I can't stand watching the Marines act like this anymore!" Coby shouted back in determination. "I want to be a good Marine!"

"Stop it! I'm not gonna run away! I only have ten days left!"

"They're going to execute you tomorrow."

Zoro's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?!"

"Helmeppo never intended to keep his promise. He was bragging about how he was going to execute you, so Luffy-san got mad and punched him."

"He did...?"

"Luffy-san and Lambo-san are probably being chased by the Marines now. I'm not going to ask you to become a pirate, but please help them."

"..."

"I think that they're the only ones who can save you now. And _you're_ the only one who can save _them_."

As soon as he finished talking, a 'BANG' resounded in the air. Zoro's eyes widened when Coby let out a scream of pain and landed on the ground with a solid thump, one hand clutching his shoulder, which was oozing blood.

"Ah! I've been shot! I'm gonna die!" Coby shouted, tears falling from his eyes.

Hearing footsteps, Zoro turned to see a group of Marines, all with guns aiming at him. Morgan stood behind them, glaring at the two darkly.

"For the crime of treason against me, you both will be executed right here and now!"

XXX

Luffy and Lambo screeched to a halt in front of a wooden door that had a pink and flowery sign hanging from it which read "My Room."

"This must be the place," Luffy remarked with a smile as he opened the door.

Stepping inside, Lambo's eye twitched when he was bombarded with _pink_. A pink bed, a pink dresser, there was even a pink vanity with _make up_ on it. If Lambo had thought that Helmeppo had _any_ masculinity to speak of, that assumption would most likely be dead now. His eyes then quickly caught three out-of-place looking swords at the far end of the room.

"One of these must be Zoro's," he said, walking over to the three swords and examining them.

"Hey, you, which of these is Zoro's?" Luffy demanded from Helmeppo. Hearing no response, he looked down at where he was still holding onto him and frowned. "He's unconscious, huh? What a weakling."

"Well you _did_ drag him across the carpet like some kind of rag doll. Not to mention we passed by this room five times before I finally stopped you," Lambo remarked, sighing when the other just grinned and laughed.

"We should just take all of them," The straw-hat boy stated, letting go of Helmeppo, who fell to the ground with a groan of pain, and walking over to grab the swords.

"Might as well. I doubt any of them belong to him, anyway," Lambo answered as he turned his attention towards the window. His eyes then widened in horror.

"Luffy!"

Luffy frowned at Lambo's sudden change of tone and hurried over to the window to see what had made the other react that way. His eyes widened when he came upon the sight of Zoro and a bleeding Coby surrounded by gun-wielding Marines. "Coby!"

"We'll never make it in time if we go back the way we came!" Lambo said before turning and taking the swords from Luffy, who looked at him in confusion. "I'll hold the swords, so you use those rubber powers of yours to get us down there!"

The other grinned. "Right!"

XXX

"This has been an interesting day," Morgan remarked. "Are you conspiring with those other two?"

Zoro sent the man a death glare. "I always fight my battles alone! I don't hide behind a bunch of expendable Marines like you do!"

"Don't underestimate me, Roronoa Zoro! You're no match for my power! Take aim!"

Coby yelped and Zoro's eyes widened in horror as the guns all aimed at them.

_'I...'_

"FIRE!"

_'I CAN'T DIE HERE!'_

"GOMU GOMU NO ROCKET!"

Lambo winced as he landed on the ground beside Coby, who looked at him in shock. Quickly looking back up, his eyes widened when he saw Luffy land right in the line of fire, arms spread out to protect the people behind him as each of the bullets hit him head on.

"Luffy!"

"Luffy-san!"

"You!"

The shock and terror the three boys felt quickly turned into bewilderment as they watched Luffy's skin stretch before the bullets were bounced back at full force, narrowly missing the gaping Marines.

"That won't work!" Luffy shouted, laughing at everyone's stunned expressions. "Told you I was strong!"

_'Holy crap, he's bulletproof,'_ Lambo thought, watching in awe as not even a mark was left on the boy's skin.

"Just who the hell are you?!" Zoro shouted.

Luffy turned to look at him, his grin rivaling the sun itself. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man who'll become Pirate King!"

Lambo didn't really understand what it was, but at that moment, as he stared in awe at this idiotic boy with his ridiculous power, he genuinely believed him.


	7. Departure

"What? Pirate King? Do you have any idea what you're saying?!" Zoro shouted at him in disbelief.

"The Pirate King is the Pirate King," Luffy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What else would it mean?"

"I was surprised too, but Luffy-san really means it!" Coby said, smiling despite the pain his shoulder was giving him. "That's just the kind of person he is! He really wants to become Pirate King and find One Piece!"

Lambo sighed when he finally calmed down his Lightning Flames, which for some reason had been going crazy inside him. "One Piece? That's Gold Roger's treasure, isn't it?"

"Yeah! The ultimate treasure that represents wealth, fame, and power!" Coby continued excitedly.

Lambo was momentarily stunned by the amount of faith the wannabe Marine clearly had for the pirate. _'Then again, it's not like I can talk,'_ he thought to himself as he hurried over to Zoro and held out the three swords. "Which one's yours?"

"They're all mine," the swordsman responded, surprising him. "I use three-sword-style."

"Three-sword-style?" Lambo looked at the man's right arm, then his left arm, and finally back at his face. "How does _that_ work?"

Zoro smirked. "Untie me and I'll give a demonstration."

"If you fight with us, the government will come after you," Luffy remarked, his everpresent grin still in full force. "Or would you rather get killed by the Marines here?"

Zoro stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before his smirk returned, even broader than before. "You're the son of the devil! Fine! If it's between that and death, then I have no choice but to become a pirate!"

"Awesome! You'll be my nakama!" Luffy cheered, practically bouncing in delight. "This is so great!"

"I agreed, so untie me already!"

"What is he?!" One of the Marines shouted. "He bounced the bullets right back at us!"

"Straw Hat is no ordinary human!" Morgan stated, looking as surprised as the rest of them. "He must have eaten one of the legendary Devil's Fruits!"

"Devil's Fruits?"

"The treasures of the sea? They exist?"

"Devil's Fruits? What are those?"

"They're strange fruits that grant whoever eats them mysterious powers," Morgan explained. "There exist many rumors about them, but no concrete evidence until now. Their secrets are said to lie hidden within the Grand Line. Straw Hat undoubtebly has one of those powers!"

"Devil's Fruits? Is that true, Luffy?" Lambo asked the other boy as he watched him tug at the ropes.

Luffy paused for a moment and flashed him a smile. "Yeah, I ate the Gomu Gomu Fruit," he explained before going back to the ropes.

"The Gomu Gomu Fruit, huh?" Lambo mumbled. _'There sure are some strange things in this world...'_ He examined the ropes and frowned before looking at Zoro. "It'll take too long to untie these. I'll have to use one of your swords, is that okay?"

"That's fine, just hurry!"

"I don't care whether he's human or not! Anyone who opposes me will be executed without exception! If guns don't work, then chop him to bits!" Morgan shouted.

"Yes, sir!" His men shouted, unsheathing their swords and making a beeline towards the four boys.

"Crap!" Lambo cursed, realizing he only had enough time to cut free one of Zoro's arms.

"Just give me my swords, quick!"

The cow-boy wasted no time putting one sword in Zoro's left hand and one in his right. He lifted the final, white sword and looked at Zoro in confusion. Seeing the swordsman open his mouth in response, he could only think _'Seriously?!'_ before quickly placing it in.

Moments later, Zoro was standing between them and the Marines, each one of his swords stopping their own. Their hands were trembling, visibly trying to continue bringing their swords down on the man, but he was clearly overpowering them.

"Whoa! Cool!" Luffy cheered as he and the other two watched in awe.

 _'This guy is even cooler than Squalo...'_ Lambo thought with wide eyes.

Zoro shot a side-glare at the Marines. "Move and you're dead."

The men flinched before freezing. "S-Scary..."

Seeing that they weren't going to move, Zoro turned his attention back to Luffy. "I'll become a pirate, you have my word. But let me make one thing clear: I'll only pursue my own ambition!"

"Ambition?" Luffy asked.

Zoro looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman! And if you ever get in the way of that goal, I'll have you apologize at the end of my sword!"

 _'Definitely cooler than Squalo,'_ Lambo thought again.

"World's greatest swordsman?" Luffy repeated. "That's perfect! I'd expect nothing less from the Pirate King's nakama!"

"Now you're talking! I don't care if it's as a devil or a saint, my name will be known all across the world!"

"Quit lounging around and kill them already!" Morgan roared, finally having had enough.

"Get down, Zoro! Gomu Gomu no..."

Zoro's eyes widened when he saw Luffy's leg stretch out and he quickly followed his new captain's first order.

"WHIP!"

True to the attack's name, his leg took on the appearance of a whip as it rammed into the Marines that Zoro had been holding back moments before, sending them falling hard onto the ground.

"W-Wow! Amazing!" Coby shouted.

"I never expected having a body made of rubber to be so useful," Lambo muttered, nodding in agreement.

"So I'm guessing that that's the power of this Gomu Gomu Fruit you two were talking about?" Zoro asked, directing his question at Lambo.

The black-haired boy nodded again. "Apparently so."

"H-He's a rubberman!" One of the Marines shouted in panic. "Captain! We're no match for someone like that!"

"Zoro alone could defeat us! We're no match for both of them!"

Morgan's head was bowed, his fists shaking in barely witheld rage. "This is a direct order!" He boomed. "If you lack the guts to fight, shoot yourselves right here and now to save me the trouble! My division has no room for cowards!"

 _"What?"_ Lambo growled, disgusted. How could anyone order their own men to do something like that? His eyes widened in horror, however, when he saw that the Marines who had been speaking before started to slowly, and with obvious reluctance and terror, raise their guns to their heads.

"D-Don't tell me they're gonna actually do it?" Coby whispered in horror.

 _'If they don't do it, then Morgan will just kill them later,'_ Lambo realized. _'But even so, I can't just watch people kill themselves right in front of me!'_ He quickly raised his right hand and pointed it towards the enemy, letting his Lightning Flames ignite along it. Within a few seconds, a group of arrow-like shots of flames were lunged towards the Marines, hitting them head on and quickly knocking the guns out of their hands before they could pull the triggers.

"Huh?" Lambo said, stumbling slightly as he put out his flames. _'That was strange... My flames felt...not stronger, but easier to control than they did before.'_

"What the hell was _that_? Don't tell me you ate one of those weird fruits, too," Zoro demanded.

"Uh, no, not exactly..."

"Great job, Lambo!" Luffy exclaimed. "Leave their stupid captain to me!" With that, he sped off towards Morgan with no warning, zooming past his shocked and panicked men.

"Luffy-san!" Coby shouted, just as disgusted by what he had witnessed as Lambo was. "Crush those Marines!"

Luffy brought his fist forward, ready to shove it right in Morgan's face, only to be blocked by his axe arm.

"You're not gonna help him?" Lambo asked Zoro, who took his third sword out of his mouth.

"I wanna see what my new captain can do."

Morgan shoved Luffy back before grabbing his Marine coat and throwing it off. "How dare a nameless punk like you defy me?! I am Marine Captain Axe-Hand Morgan!"

"I'm Luffy! Nice to meet you!"

Lambo almost had to physically stop himself from facepalming at that.

Morgan seemed even more enraged by his response, bringing his axe down on the boy. "DIE!"

Luffy quickly jumped away from the attack, which hit the ground and created a miniature fissure. The straw-hat boy then sent both of his feet slamming into the Marine Captain's face, sending him flying back a few meters.

"Y-You brat! Just die already!"

"No way!" Luffy shouted back at him before dodging yet another strike and sending another devastating kick to the side of the man's head.

"C-Captain Morgan's losing!" The Marines were shouting.

"He's no match for him!"

Luffy grabbed the axe-handed man by the front of his shirt and forced him to sit up. "Marine my ass! How dare you destroy Coby's dream like that?!" He shouted, repeatedly pounding his fist into the man's face.

"Hold it right there, Straw Hat! I have a hostage!"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Lambo and Zoro both turned around only for their eyes to widen when they were greeted with the sight of Helmeppo holding Coby at gunpoint.

 _'Shit!'_ Lambo thought to himself. _'I should have been paying more attention!'_

Luffy, however, just ignored the call and continued punching the living daylights out of Morgan.

"H-Hey! Are you an idiot, or something?! I said I have a hostage!"

"Luffy, stop!" Lambo finally shouted. His call seemed to immediately snap Luffy's attention back to them as he let go of Morgan, letting him fall to the ground.

"If you want him to live, you'd better back off!" Helmeppo continued. "If you try anything, he's dead!"

Coby was clearly terrified, his entire body trembling, but he looked Luffy straight in the eyes and shouted, "Luffy-san! I don't want to get in the way of your dream! Do what you have to do!"

The other boy grinned in response. "Yeah, I know. Give it up, Purple Bowl-Head! Coby means what he says!"

Coby's eyes widened however, when he saw Morgan stand back up and get behind Luffy, axe poised to kill. "B-Behind you!"

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy ignored his warning and let his arm stretch, throwing a fist that caught Helmeppo right in the face, sending him flying back, gun clattering to the ground.

At the same time, Zoro ran behind Luffy and blocked Morgan's axe with his own swords, and Lambo threw a Lightning-Flame-covered punch to the man's back, electrocuting him and sending him crumbling to the ground.

Luffy looked back at them and grinned. "Good job, Zoro, Lambo!"

"Just doing my job, Captain," the swordsman responded while the other just sighed.

"Yare, yare... I'm just glad this is over with..." He muttered, but he couldn't help but smile as well.

"C-Captain Morgan lost!"

Luffy and Zoro turned their attention back to the Marines as Lambo walked over to Coby to take a look at the wound on his shoulder.

"If any of you still want to arrest us, step forward right now!"

There was a long moment of silence as the Marines looked at each other. Then, as one, they all let out nearly deafening cheers and threw their weapons into the air.

"It's over!"

"We're free!"

"It's finally over!"

"It feels like I'm dreaming! Somebody pinch me!"

"Why are they all so happy about their captain being defeated?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"It's because they all hated him!" Coby answered, smiling broadly. He then turned to Lambo, who was wrapping a piece of cloth he had ripped from the other boy's shirt tightly around his wound. "Lambo-san, h-how is it?"

"Luckily for you, the bullet didn't hit you head on," the cow-boy answered, giving a smile of reassurance. "It just grazed you, deep enough to draw blood, but there's no lasting damage."

"Thank goodness..." The pink-haired boy sighed in relief.

A loud thump caused their attention to turn to Zoro, who had fallen to the ground, eyes closed.

"Z-Zoro-san, what's wrong?"

There was a loud grumble. "I'm hungry..."

Coby just let out another relieved smile and Luffy gave yet another blinding grin.

 _'Ah, the start of a beautiful friendship,'_ Lambo thought half-sarcastically.

XXX

After that entire fiasco was over with, the three went back to Ririka's restaurant, where she immediately welcomed them, thanking them profusedly for finally ending Morgan's tyranny.

Currently, Luffy, Zoro, and Coby were downstairs, eating and celebrating their victory. Lambo was upstairs, wanting to be alone for a moment to get his thoughts together (which Luffy had verbally objected to, but was eventually persuaded with the help of Coby).

Sitting against a window sill, Lambo stared out at the town for a moment before turning his attention to his hand, watching as the emerald-colored Flames danced along it.

"It wasn't just my imagination, after all. It really _is_ easier to control now... But why?" He frowned and stared at the fire harder, as if it were hiding the secret. He was taken out of his concentration, however, by another emerald glow. Putting out the Flames, his eyes widened when he realized that the glow was coming from his Vongola Ring.

And, suddenly, a torrent of Lightning Flames went ablaze in front of him, causing him to shield his eyes from the intense glow. Once it had faded, he looked at the spot once again to see something that he was most definitely _not_ expecting.

"...Lampo?"

The green-haired Lambo-look-alike known as Lampo merely raised his hand in greeting. "Yo."

"What... What the heck are you doing here?" Lambo asked, not even trying to hide his surprise. "Shouldn't you be sleeping in the ring or something?"

"Yare, yare... As much as I'd like to, it seems you've gotten yourself in a bit of an interesting situation."

Lambo was seriously confused now. "Interesting situation? And you didn't really answer my question..."

"I really hate explaining things," Lampo sighed, causing Lambo's eye to twitch in irritation at how lazy the man was being. "Basically, the other First Generation Guardians and I are supposed to help out the current generation when something big happens. Usually when they're in a life threatening situation that they can't handle, or something," he said, shrugging. "So, here I am."

"Well, that situation's already passed, so I guess you can leave," Lambo said, making a shooing gesture with his hand.

This, in turn, caused Lampo to become irritated. "Even when you're grown up, I still don't like you much..." He muttered. "But, no, I'm not here for that." His expression turned troubled. "I'm here because your bond with the current Vongola Sky seems to have...severed."

"Severed?" Lambo asked in worry. "What do you mean?"

Lampo bit his lip uncertainly. "This sort of thing rarely happens. But, sometimes, a Sky isn't able to properly bond with one of the other elements, which leads to their bond being weak. When that happens, the element's Flames will latch onto another Sky who they see as a better fit for them."

"I...still don't think I understand."

Lampo sighed. "Man, I'm really not good at explaining things... Basically, your Flames snapped their bond with the Vongola Decimo and attached themselves to another Sky, the one with the straw hat downstairs."

Lambo's eyes widened. "They can do that?!"

"Yeah... Like I said, this sort of thing rarely happens, since most Skies are accepting and open to those around them, able to make lasting bonds with pretty much anyone..."

"So...Tsuna isn't my Sky anymore?"

"So it would seem."

"I-I see..."

"...Can I ask you something?" Lampo suddenly said. The other boy looked at him in confusion but nodded. "Have you recently felt your Flames acting...weird? Easier to control? Anything like that?"

Lambo blinked. "Y-Yeah, a half hour ago..."

"I see," the green-haired boy sighed. At the younger's confused look, he elaborated. "That means that your bond with this new Sky has already solidified. Basically, you're pretty much _his_ Lightning Guardian now. At least, that's one way to look at it."

"Ah, that explains a lot..." Lambo muttered before redirecting his gaze out the window. "I guess I really have no choice but to go with him now..."

"Never really expected a mafioso to turn into a pirate," Lampo admitted. "Seriously, though, it must be a hard decision for you... Leaving your entire family is a difficult thing to do. If you don't want to go, I might be able to find a way to make your Flames reattach themselves to the Decimo-" 

"No."

"Huh?"

"To be honest, it's not really a hard decision..." Lambo muttered, staring unseeingly at the view outside. "After all..."

_"Don't bother Juudaime, Stupid Cow!"_

_"I still don't understand how we haven't found a replacement for you yet..."_

_"I'm sorry, Lambo, I'll train you when you're a bit older, alright? Promise!"_

_"I-I don't think that we should be friends anymore Lambo... Everyone in school thinks you're a loser!"_

_"I give up on you!"_

_"What a pathetic herbivore..."_

_"Another dame and useless son..."_

"Why the hell would I want to go back there?" There was a long silence after that confession. Hearing no response, Lambo turned back to the other and asked in a hesitant voice, "Does...that make me a bad person? I'm willing to leave my family just like that... Does this mean I'm a traitor?"

"...Nah," Lampo responded, prompting the other to look at him in surprise.

"Huh?"

"I'm not sure about the current generation, or even the first generation guardians, but I know for a fact that Primo would never force someone into the Vongola if they didn't want it," he explained, smiling in reassurance. "It's one of the many great things about him. He never intended for the Vongola to become a Mafia family, after all. It started out as a vigilante group. Besides, it's only natural for an element to want to follow his Sky, right?"

"...I guess so," Lambo responded after a while, smiling a bit. "You're not as annoying as I thought you were... But why are you helping me, anyway? I thought you hated me."

"I don't really like you that much, but I don't hate you," Lampo answered. "I hate kids, and you're not a kid anymore. Besides..." He rubbed the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed expression. "You're my descendant, so that kinda makes me your great grandfather or something, right?"

"...I never thought about it like that before." Lambo smiled a bit wider and looked back at his ring. "So, I guess I'm leaving then... Hey, do me a favor and don't tell your first generation buddies, okay?"

Lampo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah... If you're going to leave, though, then you should find a way to give them back the Vongola Ring. It's really important if they ever want a replacement Lightning Guardian someday."

"A day ago, that would have been really insulting," Lambo sighed. "I can't believe it's really only been a day... So much has happened..."

"So, do you have any idea how you can give them back the ring?" Lampo asked curiously, tilting his head.

Lambo frowned. "I guess I could wait until this vacation is over...but I doubt Luffy will be willing to wait three entire weeks... Ah! Wait!" He shoved his hand inside a pocket and searched for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper. "I can use this address Fuuta gave me! It's for mailing letters, but I think it'd work for packages, too..."

Lampo smiled. "You've got a plan then! You're smarter than I thought... I guess this is goodbye then."

Lambo nodded. "For now. I'll be sure to come back someday. Maybe not permanently, though. The others will probably want to kick my ass for this decision if I ever see them again," he laughed.

Lampo couldn't help but laugh as well. "Probably. Goodbye, then..."

"Yeah, goodbye..." Lambo muttered, watching as the other was engulfed in the emerald flames before being re-absorbed into the ring. "Yare, yare...who knew a stupid vacation could lead to something like this?"

XXX

A few minutes later, Lambo, using a pen and paper that Easton had been kind enough to give him, smiled as he finished his letter to Tsuna. "Finally done," he muttered, glancing back at the other letters he had wrote, which he had crumpled up and thrown away soon afterwards. He put the note inside an envelope, wrote the address, and attached a small white box that he had put the ring into. He also added a small note on the box instructing Tsuna to open it only after the three weeks were over with.

Taking the items, he hurried back downstairs only to find Luffy, Zoro, and Coby gone. Gordy, who was cleaning up a table, turned to him as he came downstairs. "Gordy? Where are the others?"

"Ah, Lambo-san! The Marines came here a few moments ago and forced them to leave..."

Lambo's eyes widened. "What?! Why didn't you come and tell me?!"

"W-Well, we asked if you were part of his crew, and Luffy-san said that you hadn't agreed yet, so we thought-"

Lambo put up a hand to stop his rambling. "Forget about that. Where are they now?"

"A-At the docks. If you hurry, you can still catch them!"

"Alright, thanks!" Lambo hurried to the door, but quickly stopped and turned back around. "Actually, can you do me a favor?"

Gordy smiled and nodded. "After all you've done for us? Of course!"

"Can you deliver these for me?" He asked, giving the note and box to Gordy, who took them and nodded.

"I'll deliver them right away. Now hurry, before you miss them!"

"Right! Thank you!"

XXX

"What a way to leave," Zoro remarked, smirking. "Everyone must hate us now... Such is the life of a pirate."

Luffy laughed in response as he and the swordsman got into their small boat. "Guess so!"

"By the way..." Zoro frowned. "What about Lambo? Isn't he part of your crew?"

Luffy's smile disappeared at that. Before he could say anything in response, however, a familiar voice raing out.

"Luffy!"

Both turned towards the source and couldn't help but smile when they saw the very same person they had been talking about running towards them. "Lambo! Did you finally decide to join my crew?!"

Lambo sighed as he stopped in front of him, but a smile was present on his features. "Against my better judgement," he joked.

"Alright!" Luffy cheered, jumping in joy. "Two nakama at the same time! This is the best day ever!" He grabbed onto Lambo's arm, causing the other to yelp in surprise, and pulled him into the boat. "We'll become the strongest pirate crew ever, Lambo!"

Lambo stared at him in shock for a moment before a genuine smile made its way onto his face. "Yeah!"

"Luffy-san! Lambo-san! Zoro-san!"

The sudden shout caused all three to turn around and see Coby standing at the dock, giving them a Marine-style salute. "Thank you all so much! I'll never forget what you've done for me!"

Zoro smirked. "I've never heard of a Marine thanking a pirate."

Luffy laughed at his statement and waved vigorously with both arms. "We'll see each other again, Coby!"

"Luffy-san..." Coby mumbled, tearing up.

"All hands, salute!"

Coby blinked and turned around only for his eyes to widen in surprise when he saw every Marine from the base behind him, all saluting the departing pirates as well. The higher-ranking Marine looked down at him and smiled. "You have some fine friends."

"Yes, sir!" Coby shouted before turning back and watching the small boat disappear into the distance.

"What we're doing is strictly against Marine code! As punishment, no rations for three days! Understood?!"

"Yes, sir!"

XXX

"Alright, our first voyage as a real pirate crew!" Luffy cheered.

"It's still kind of hard to believe how someone's life can change so quickly..." Lambo mumbled to himself as he watched the town get farther and farther away.

"I'll say," Zoro replied, having heard him. "Looks like it's gonna be one hell of an adventure."

"Yeah! I'll definitely...become King of the Pirates!"


	8. Moving Forward

"Decimo, a package came for you."

Tsuna blinked and looked up from his paperwork to see one of his many subordinates standing by the door, holding what looked like a small box in his hands. "A package? From who?"

"It appears to be from the Lightning Guardian, sir."

"From Lambo? Does it say what it is?"

The man frowned and shook his head. "No, sir. There is a note written on the box, though."

"What does it say?"

"It's an instruction not to open it until his three weeks are over," the man answered, obviously just as confused by the whole situation as he was.

"What? Let me take a look at it."

The man walked over to the desk and deposited the note and box onto it, being mindful of the stacks upon stacks of paperwork already taking up most of the available space. Tsuna nodded his thanks to the man, who nodded back before leaving the room.

Tsuna frowned at the object before removing the note from inside the envelope and reading it over.

_Tsuna,_

_My first day in Shells Town was a lot different than how I thought it would be. The people living here are nice and I've made some interesting friends. One of them's really hyperactive and childish, but he's a good guy. So, I just want you to know that you don't have to worry, I'm doing fine. And the Marines here aren't giving me that much trouble, either. I hear that their captain is going to be replaced soon, too._

_As for the box I sent you, please don't open it until my vacation's over. You'll understand someday._

_Goodbye._

_-Lambo_

Tsuna frowned. This was more than a little strange. What could Lambo have sent him? And why couldn't he open it until then?

He glanced at the box, his frown deepening. What could be in there that Lambo didn't want him to see until he got back. And those words...

_You'll understand someday._

_Goodbye._

Something about those words sounded...strange.

He weighed the pros and cons of peeking into the box early before deciding that it was best to just do as Lambo had asked. The younger boy would probably get very angry with him or cry if he found out that Tsuna had opened the box prematurely. He reread the note again a few times before convincing himself that he was just overthinking things.

He put the note back into its envelope and gently placed both in one of the drawers in his desk. Making a quick note on his calendar to remind himself, he gave a sigh and went back to his stacks of paperwork (which he swore tripled in size while he was reading the note).

XXX

_**Three Days Later** _

"I'm hungry..." Luffy whined, slumped over on the side of the ship.

"I still can't believe you managed to eat a week's worth of food in three days," Lambo mumbled, staring down into the water below and watching as the fish all swam away from the boat as it drew near.

"How long until we reach land?" Zoro asked.

Luffy shrugged. "Who knows? I just go wherever the wind takes me, you know?"

"What?!" Zoro exclaimed. "How do you plan to be Pirate King if you don't even know the first thing about navigation?" His eye twitched in irritation when the boy just shrugged. "Hey," he said, turning to Lambo. "Do you know anything about navigation?"

"Nope. This is the first time I've ever sailed before," Lambo admitted, causing the swordsman to sigh in frustration. He turned and looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "What about you? You're a bounty hunter, right? So you must know how to get from place to place."

Zoro sighed and leaned back. "I never said I was a bounty hunter. I went out to sea in order to find someone, but I couldn't find my way back to the village, so I took up bounty hunting in order to have money to eat."

"So you just got lost," Luffy and Lambo said simultaneously, giving him looks that could only be described as pity.

"That's pretty sad," Lambo added, sighing and looking up at the sky.

"Oi! Don't say it like that!" Zoro shouted angrily, rocking the boat.

"Whoa! Hey!" Lambo shouted, clutching onto the edge to avoid falling into the water. "Watch it!"

"My hat!" Luffy suddenly shouted in a panic. Both quickly turned in his direction to see that his signature straw hat was knocked right off his head and was now sailing through the air. At the angle it was going, it would no doubt fall into the water.

Lambo, being the closest, quickly shot out his hand and made a grasp for it, barely managing to catch it before it could fall into the sea. Luffy gave a relieved smile as Lambo slumped down again and sighed, the hat clutched tightly in his fingers.

"Good catch, Lambo!" The black-haired boy exclaimed as the other just rolled his eyes and handed him the hat.

"That was a close one," Zoro said as he watched their captain put the hat back onto his head where it belonged. "Good job."

"Just don't rock the boat like that again, please," the cow-boy said, giving him a slight glare. "This boat's so small that you could cause us all to go overboard."

Zoro ignored his remark and looked at Luffy. "That hat seems pretty important to you. Any story behind it?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah. I got this from someone really important to me."

"Really?" Lambo asked, looking at the hat with new interest.

"Yep!" Luffy grinned and reached up to touch the hat fondly. "This hat is proof of our promise. It's my treasure."

"Your treasure, huh...?" Zoro muttered, looking like he understood exactly what Luffy was talking about.

"Hey, do you guys have any treasures?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side in question.

"This sword is mine," Zoro answered, holding out his one white sword, in contrast to the two black ones. "It's proof of my own promise."

"What promises are you guys talking about?" Lambo asked curiously.

"Oh, I promised the guy who gave me this hat that I'd get a great pirate crew and find One Piece," Luffy answered easily, grinning all the while.

"I made a promise to a friend of mine that I would become the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro answered with a shrug, putting his sword back in its place.

"So both your dreams are tied to those treasures of yours, huh?" Lambo said, looking at both the objects closely from where he was sitting.

"Do you have anything like that?" Zoro asked the youngest of the three curiously. Luffy also turned his full attention to him, bouncing slightly as he waited for an answer.

Lambo frowned. "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have anything like that."

"Aw, you don't?" Luffy whined in disappointment. "That's too bad."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find something eventually," Zoro stated.

"Maybe," the cow-boy sighed and looked back up at the sky. He felt oddly left out, not that he'd ever admit to that.

"Hey, Lambo," Luffy suddenly started. "What's your dream?"

The other boy looked back at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I wanna become Pirate King, and Zoro wants to become the world's greatest swordsman," Luffy answered, pointing at himself and Zoro in turn. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"Hmm..." Lambo frowned and thought for a long moment. "I've never really thought about it much... I guess I do have _one_ dream... It's nothing as grand as becoming Pirate King or the greatest swordsman, though."

"There's no rule that says it has to be," Zoro answered with a shrug. "If it's your dream, then it's important either way, right?"

"What is it? What is it?" Luffy asked impatiently, looking at the other boy eagerly.

"Well..." Lambo frowned. He reasoned that, since they were pirates and had no interest in things such as the Mafia, it was safe to tell them. "Well, you see, my family is actually a Mafia family."

"Mafia?" Luffy asked, frowning in obvious confusion. "What's that?"

"I think I've heard of those," Zoro said thoughtfully. "They're some kind of criminal underground organization or something, right? I hear the strongest one around here is called Von... Von-something."

"Vongola," Lambo corrected.

"Yeah, them," Zoro said, nodding. "So what family are you from?"

"Vongola," Lambo said again.

"Whoa, seriously?" Zoro asked in surprise, eyes slightly wide. "Must be something, being part of such a strong Mafia family," he added, not noticing Lambo's subtle wince at those words.

"Yeah..."

"What does that have to do with your dream, though?" Luffy asked with a confused frown.

"Oh, right," Lambo said, remembering the topic at hand. He thought back to Tsuna, the other guardians, his family... "...My dream is to become stronger than any of them." He paused for a moment before looking at Luffy. "I told you it wasn't as grand as your dream."

"Huh?" Luffy looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? That sounds like a great dream! You wanna be the world's strongest Mafia guy, right?"

Lambo blinked in surprise at that statement. "Oh, uh, well, I'm not really a Mafioso anymore, but I guess that's one way to look at it." He looked up at the sky and thought for a moment before a smile lit up his features. World's strongest Mafioso actually sounded pretty cool... And it wasn't really that far off, he _did_ want to become stronger than anyone in the Vongola, after all. But that included the current generation, past generation, the Varia, _and_ the Arcobaleno. He frowned, troubled. "It'll be pretty tough, though."

"My dream isn't exactly a walk in the park, either," Zoro said, arching an eyebrow. "And neither is Luffy's. I don't think any dream is, really."

"Guess you have a point there..." The cow-boy admitted with a small smile. He was about to say something else when a sound similar to an angry lion roaring reverberated around the area.

"What the hell was that?!" Zoro said, putting one hand on his sword as both he and Lambo looked around nervously, expecting a Sea King to jump out at them any minute.

There was a long moment of silence until...

"I'm hungry," Luffy groaned.

"Seriously, Luffy..." Lambo muttered, sighing in relief while Zoro frowned and went into a more relaxed position.

Luffy just groaned again before something caught his eye. "Ooooh! That bird looks tasty!"

Both blinked and looked up to see what their captain was talking about. There was in fact a pink bird flying lazily in the air just above them.

"Hey, we should eat that bird!" Luffy decided, standing up.

"And how do you propose we get it down from there?" Zoro asked.

"How would we even cook it?" Lambo added, wincing from the sun as he tried to get a better look at the animal.

"Don't worry, I'll get it down no problem!" Luffy said brightly as he stretched his arms out. "Gomu Gomu no ROCKET!"

The two just watched as the boy sent himself flying towards the poor bird with the ease of someone used to that sort of thing. After a few seconds, however, Lambo frowned.

"Zoro?"

"Hm?"

"He's not coming back down."

"What?" Zoro shot up and looked up into the sky, eyes widening. Apparently, the bird was a lot bigger than it first appeared. Its beak was trapping Luffy's head as the boy struggled to free himself. "Goddammit, Luffy!" Zoro groaned as he took both oars. He turned to Lambo, about to say something, when he stopped and stared. "Is that smoke?"

Lambo blinked and looked around himself to see the beginnings of pink smoke surrounding him. He couldn't help but facepalm. "Not now..." He turned to Zoro, who was looking on in a mixture of confusion and concern. "Don't worry, this happens somethimes. I'll explain everything later, so just get going after Luffy!"

"Uh, okay? But, what-"

There was no time to say anything more, however, as there was a sudden "pop," and Lambo was gone. In his place was a small, sniveling five-year-old child. "Gotta stay calm..." The little boy muttered before bursting out into tears. "I can't!"

"...What the hell?"

XXX

_'Seriously, this is the worst possible timing...'_ Lambo thought as he found himself in a very familiar setting. It was Tsuna's room when he still lived with Nana. Tsuna was looking at him with wide eyes while Gokudera just glared at him. _'Even after I leave, I still can't escape them...'_

"A-Adult Lambo!" Tsuna shouted in surprise.

_'I'm fifteen, that's hardly an adult,'_ Lambo sighed. "Hey, Decimo. What did my younger self do this time?"

"Don't talk to Juudaime so familiarly, you stupid co-" Gokudera started, but was cut off when the door suddenly slammed open. His eyes widened comically, skin starting to look slightly green. "A-Aneki..." He muttered before falling into a pathetic, groaning mess on the floor, causing Tsuna to panic.

Lambo froze and slowly turned around.

"Romeo!"

Lambo wisely decided to run like hell.


	9. Orange Town

Child Lambo squealed in delight as the small boat sped through the water. "Wheee! Faster! Faster! Faster!"

"Hey, don't get so close to the edge! You'll fall out!" Zoro shouted at him as he rowed like a madman, trying to catch up to the bird carrying Luffy. He was worried about Lambo too, of course, but the younger boy seemed to know what was happening to him and didn't seem too concerned about it before he disappeared, so Zoro reasoned that he would be back soon. He just wished he knew who this kid was, though...

Lambo paused and looked past Zoro with a frown on his face. "Hey, Plant-Head, there are some weirdos in the water."

"Hey, don't come up with weird nicknames for me, kid," Zoro muttered before craning his neck to try and see what he was talking about.

There were in fact three people floating out in the middle of the sea, waving their arms vigorously to try and get his attention. "Hey! Please stop! Let us on your boat, please!"

"Dammit!" Zoro groaned, not even slowing down. "I don't have time to stop! Just grab on yourselves!"

"Wh-What?!" The three exclaimed, but obediantly grabbed onto the edge of the ship as it flew past them and heaved themselves onto it, causing Lambo to squeak in surprise and hurry to Zoro's side.

"Wow, you actually got on," Zoro remarked, smirking. "I'm impressed."

"Are you trying to kill us?!" They shouted back incredulously. It didn't last long, however, as one of them pulled out a sword and pointed it at him.

"Hey, stop the boat. We're with Buggy the Clown, and we'll be taking this boat, otherwise you and that little brat are gonna get it!"

Lambo made a fearful sound and hid behind Zoro. The swordsman, however, paused in his rowing and turned to give them a glare that rivaled hell itself.

_"Huh?"_

XXX

A few seconds later, the men, all bruised and battered, laughed nervously as they rowed as quickly as they could. "We had no idea you were the famous Pirate Hunter Zoro! Please forgive us!"

Zoro just scoffed and glared at them, causing them to flinch. "Thanks to you idiots, I lost sight of my friend. So shut up and just keep rowing."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Yahahahaha! That was cool!" Lambo exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement. "Do that again, Plant-Head!"

"I said don't give me such a weird nickname," Zoro grumbled in irritation before turning to look the small boy in the eyes. "My name is Zoro, okay? _Zoro_ ," he pronounced slowly.

"Zo...ro?" The child asked, tilting his head to the side. "That's a pretty weird name."

"Why you..."

"What are we gonna do, Aniki?"

Whatever Zoro was going to say in rebuttal was quickly forgotten as he turned his attention to the conversation the three men were having amongst themselves.

"I don't know... If Captain Buggy finds out that some girl took the map and treasure..."

"Hey, who's this Buggy guy you keep talking about?"

The three looked at Zoro in disbelief. "You've never heard of Buggy the Clown?"

"Can't say I have."

"A clown? I wanna see! I wanna see!" Lambo cheered, jumping up and down.

"This is one clown you _don't_ want to see, kid," the man said, glaring at the child, causing him to flinch and step back. "He's the captain of our pirate crew, and a Devil Fruit user."

Zoro's eyes widened. "A Devil Fruit user?"

Lambo, who was watching the conversation in confusion, whined when a familiar pink smoke started to engulf his body. "Aw! I wanna see the clown!"

"Huh?" Zoro turned to him only to be surprised when the child disappeared, leaving the older Lambo in his place.

"Wha?! Th-That kid just disappeared!" One of the men shouted as they all stared in shock. "And who's this new guy?!"

Zoro sent them a glare. "Just shut up and row!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

The swordsman continued to glare at them until they picked up the speed. He then turned his attention back to Lambo, arching an eyebrow when he saw how disheveled he looked and how hard he was breathing, like he had just run a marathon. "What the hell happened to you? And where'd you disappear to? Who was that kid?"

"I-I'm fine..." Lambo said, panting as he slumped down. "I just...had to run for my life for a few minutes there..."

"Run for your life?" Zoro repeated, looking more confused than ever.

Lambo opened his mouth to say something when he caught sight of the three men, who were still shooting him wary glances. "...I'll explain everything later. What's going on here? Did you get Luffy down?"

"Unfortunately," Zoro started, sending another glare at the men, causing them to row even harder. "Thanks to _these_ idiots, I lost sight of him."

"...I see," Lambo sighed before looking out at the vast sea. "Hopefully he hasn't gotten himself roped into anything stupid..."

XXX

"Why do I have to be tied up again, Nami?" Luffy whined as an orange-haired girl led him through an empty town. The girl, Nami, was holding the end of a long rope, which was tied around Luffy, keeping his arms pinned to his sides.

Nami looked at him and gave a smile that seemed more like a smirk. "It's part of the favor. Don't worry about it."

Luffy pouted. "Fine, if you say so..." He looked around and frowned as his gaze fell on a part of the town that had been completely destroyed. It looked like some kind of explosion had occured, leaving every building in its path a mess of wood and stone. "What happened over there?"

Nami turned to where he was looking. Staring at the destruction, her expression became hard. "Buggy and his pirate crew did that."

"Really..." Luffy muttered, looking at each of the destroyed buildings with a frown. His eyes widened when he caught sight of a rather colorful one, the sign, not having been completely destroyed, reading "Orange Town Toy Store." "Oooh! Look! Look!"

"What is it- Whoa!" Nami yelped as Luffy went running off towards the building, dragging her along with him as she desperately hung onto the rope.

Luffy looked around the ruins excitedly before frowning in disappointment. "Aw! They're all broken!"

"Well, what did you expect? And why is someone your age interested in toys anyway?" Nami said, scowling at him before turning to look at all the broken toys. Looking around, she spotted something that surprised her. "Hey, it looks like something survived."

"Really? Let me see!" Luffy said, hurrying over and examining the object she had picked up. He then frowned and tilted his head to the side. "It's a...necklace?"

"Yeah," Nami responded, examining it. It was a little plastic necklace that a child could wear. At the end of it were what looked like horns that one would find on a steer. She was about to drop it back down when Luffy spoke up.

"Hey, can I have it?"

"Huh? Why? What would you do with it?"

"Come on, please?"

Nami rolled her eyes and sighed before shoving the necklace into one of the pockets on the boy's shorts. "Fine, here. Now let's hurry, okay?"

"Alright! Thanks, Nami!"

The girl just rolled her eyes as she continued to lead him by the rope to their destination. "Whatever..."

XXX

An hour later, Lambo and Zoro finally made it to land. The black-haired boy stretched and looked around. "So, how do we find Luffy?" He asked, turning to look at Zoro.

Before the other man could respond, though, the sound of a devestating explosion cut through the air. The two of them, as well as the three pirates they had picked up, turned to stare in shock as, in a burst of light and fire, a quarter of the town was reduced to rubble.

"What the hell was that?" Zoro asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Th-That looked like one of Captain Buggy's Buggy Balls!" One of the pirates said as they all watched in fear.

Lambo, once he recovered, turned to look in the direction the Buggy Ball came from. "I'd bet money that Luffy's somewhere in that direction."

"Right, let's go," Zoro said before walking off.

"...Zoro, you're...you're going the wrong way."

XXX

After having to constantly stop Zoro from going in the wrong direction, Lambo had finally just decided to lead the way himself. "It looks like we're nearly there."

"About time," Zoro grumbled.

"You know, it's kind of your fault we took so long in the first place," Lambo pointed out, earning himself a glare.

"...Say, who was that kid from before?" Zoro asked eventually, earning him a confused look.

"What kid?"

"When you disappeared, some little kid came out of nowhere," Zoro elaborated. "What the hell happened then, anyway?"

"Oh, that," Lambo said, frowning. "Well, see, that little kid was me. From ten years ago, I mean."

Zoro frowned in confusion. "What?"

The younger boy shrugged. "You see, I used to have this machine called the Ten-Year-Bazooka. It switches out anyone with their older selves."

The swordsman's eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding! Something like that actually exists?!"

"Yeah," Lambo responded, looking back at him. "My younger self used it a lot, so I may get switched out from time to time."

"...A guy made out of rubber and a time machine," Zoro said with a sigh. "Now I've seen it all... How long are you going to be switching out for anyway?"

Lambo frowned in thought. "Well... I don't really remember when Tsuna finally took the Bazooka away from me.... A few years, maybe?"

"Huh... Wait, if you've been doing this when you were younger, then shouldn't you recognize us or something?" Zoro suddenly realized. "I mean, you met us as a kid, right?"

Lambo paused at that. "...Yeah, you're right." He frowned and thought back to his childhood, trying to find any memories of Luffy and Zoro. "...I really remember only one thing. It was something about being on a boat and a clown..."

"Oh, that? That just happened," Zoro supplied. "Why is that your only memory of us?"

"I don't really know," Lambo admitted, troubled. "I guess I have some theories, though."

"Really? What are they?"

"Well, the first is that I don't stay with you permanently. I really doubt that, though."

Zoro nodded. "And the other theories?"

"Well..." Lambo thought for a moment on how to explain it. "The future isn't set in stone, it has endless possibilities, you know?" Seeing Zoro nod again, he continued. "When I was young, I never really thought about that much, but every action we do affects the future in some way. So, whenever I used the Bazooka, I most likely wasn't going to the same future that I traveled to the last time I used it, understand?"

"I guess that kind of makes sense."

"Right, so maybe me joining Luffy is kind of changing things...or something," Lambo said. He was starting to confuse even himself. "Time travel is just weird."

"Yeah, I really don't get it..." Zoro sighed. "But I'm glad to know what the hell happened back there. After we find Luffy, we'll have to explain it to him, too."

"Yeah... Hopefully he hasn't gotten himself into any trouble..." Lambo sighed this time as he remembered the explosion. "But that's probably just wishful thinking at this point..."

XXX

_**Ten Years Earlier...** _

"Hey, Tsuna, what's up with Lambo?" Yamamoto asked, staring at the small child as he begged Mama to take him to see a clown. "He's been talking about clowns for a while now."

Tsuna just sighed. "I really don't know... He's been at this ever since he came back...I wonder what happened?"


	10. Buggy the Clown

By the time Lambo and Zoro finally managed to find Luffy, they were greeted with a rather unexpected sight.

Luffy was tied up and in a metal cage, a cannon pointing straight at it. A _lit_ cannon.

_'Dammit, Luffy, how'd you even get yourself into this mess?'_ Lambo thought to himself incredulously as he and Zoro got ready to rush over to him. Before they could even get close to him, however, one of the people there, a girl, hurried over to the cannon and wrapped her hands around the flame, putting it out and burning her skin in the process.

The girl shrieked in pain but didn't remove her hands until the fire was completely out. Once that was over, she slumped a bit, not noticing a dozen pirates all rushing for her from behind, swords poised to cut her apart.

"Hey, look out!" Lambo called out to her, causing her to look at him in surprise before turning to see the pirates.

Seeing that there was no way she could get away from them in time, she squeezed her eyes shut and put her arms up in defense, preparing herself for the pain.

_'Crap!'_ Lambo thought, running forward as the familiar green glow of his Dying Will Flames began to crackle around him.

But it seemed like he wouldn't have to do anything.

"Oi, oi," Zoro muttered, swords outstretched and blocking the pirates from reaching the girl behind him. "Ganging up on a girl isn't very nice."

Lambo sighed in relief before changing direction towards the cage, where Luffy was grinning like an idiot. "Zoro! Lambo! You made it!"

"Yeah, we made it," Lambo grumbled as he took a look at the lock. "Why are you in a cage, anyway?"

"That weird clown and his crew put me in here," Luffy supplied before pouting. "I'm _hungry_..."

"Luffy, now really isn't the time," Lambo said, letting go of the lock as Zoro made his way over to them. He then turned to the girl, who was looking at Zoro in shock. "Who's that girl?"

"Oh, that's Nami. She's our new navigator," Luffy replied cheerfully, earning a glare from the girl.

"Hey, I didn't agree to anything!"

_'This doesn't surprise me at all,'_ Lambo thought to himself flatly.

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro said in an irritated tone. "First you get caught by a bird and now we find you in a cage? Is this your idea of fun or something?"

"H-Hey, wait, did they just call that guy 'Zoro'?" One of the pirates asked fearfully.

"As in Pirate Hunter Zoro?!"

"Why the hell is he with these thieves?!"

"Th-The crewmate you mentioned earlier was Pirate Hunter Zoro?!" Nami asked Luffy with wide eyes.

Luffy grinned. "Yeah! And this is Lambo, my other crewmate."

"Lambo?" The girl asked, looking Lambo up and down scrutinizingly. "I've never heard of you before."

"Well, I'm not exactly someone famous like Zoro."

"So, _you're_ Pirate Hunter Zoro?"

Lambo, as well as Luffy and Nami, turned in the direction of the new voice. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the man. _'Those guys weren't kidding, he really is a clown.'_

In front of them was a man with blue hair, make up covering his face, and a large, red and round fake(?) nose. He wore a short-sleeved shirt with white and red stripes, white gloves, baggy pants, striped socks, pointy shoes, a green scarf around his neck, and a fur lined orange coat hanging around his shoulders like a sort of cape. On his head was an orange pirate hat with a jolly roger on it: a skull with the same red nose as the man wearing it.

"What do you want?" Buggy continued, directing his question at Zoro. "Are you here for my bounty?"

"Not interested," Zoro said, causing the enemy pirate crew to look at him in surprise. "I'm not a pirate hunter anymore."

Buggy gave a wide smirk. "Well, _I'm_ interested in _you_. Taking you out will earn me lots of fame."

Zoro turned around and sent him a glare. "You shouldn't try that unless you have a deathwish."

"So that's Buggy the Clown?" Lambo asked as he watched the two go back and forth, Buggy now sporting two daggers.

"That's right," Nami replied. "He's famous here on the East Blue."

"I have to admit, I didn't expect him to look like an actual clown..." Lambo muttered, ignoring the what-exactly-were-you-expecting look he got from the orange-haired girl. "He even has a fake nose and everything."

And just like that, everything _stopped_.

Lambo blinked and looked around in confusion and slight worry when every pirate turned to stare at him in utter disbelief.

"Wh-What did he just say?"

"D-Did he just call the captain's nose f-fake?"

"He's gonna get it now..."

"That poor bastard..."

"Captain Buggy's gonna kill him..."

_'...I immediately regret speaking,'_ Lambo thought to himself miserably as he looked over at their captain.

There was nothing but absolute _rage_ in Buggy's eyes as he glared murderously at Lambo. If looks could kill, he would be dead a thousand times over. By the looks of it, however, Buggy would much rather do that job himself.

" _You_..." Buggy snarled before glaring at him full-force and pointing at his large, red nose. "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS MY _REAL_ NOSE!"

_'Seriously?!'_ Lambo thought incredulously, but wisely kept his mouth shut this time around.

As Buggy tightened his grip on his daggers and started charging towards him, Lambo found himself suddenly very glad that Zoro was there standing between them.

"Your opponent is _me_ ," the swordsman remarked, swords unsheathed and ready for use.

Buggy smirked as he turned his attention to the man standing in the way of his target. "Fine, then! I'll just kill you first!"

And with that, the two pirates rushed at each other, aiming to kill.

It all happened faster than Lambo could blink. Buggy's head, arm, and leg had all been completely cut off from the rest of his body and his torso cut in half, all the parts falling limply to the floor.

Lambo couldn't help but shudder. Even though he had been part of a Mafia family for fifteen years, this was still something he was very uncomfortable with. Next to him, Nami closed her eyes and turned away from the sight while Luffy looked on expressionlessly.

Zoro took his third sword out of his mouth and turned to look at the body with a frown. "He didn't even try to dodge..."

"Wow, what a weakling," Luffy exclaimed, looking disappointed.

"Something doesn't feel right..." Lambo muttered, frowning. "He went down way too easily..."

"...Hey, what's with his crew?" Nami asked suddenly. "Their captain just got killed, but..."

Lambo and Luffy both turned to look at the clown's crew. Each one of them had malicious smirks on their faces, and most were laughing.

_'What's with them? Are they happy that their captain is dead? Or...'_ His eyes widened in realization. _'Oh, shi-'_ "Zoro, watch out!"

"Wha-?" Zoro started before his eyes widened and he let out a grunt of pain, falling to his knees. "What the hell?!"

"Wh-What the?! Is that his _hand_?!" Nami shouted as she, Luffy, and Lambo all stared in shock.

Embedded into Zoro's side was a dagger being held by a _severed hand_. Buggy's severed hand to be exact. Behind Zoro, Buggy stood back up, his body whole and a smirk on his features.

"Zoro! Are you okay?!" Luffy shouted as he caught sight of the blood staining the swordsman's clothes.

"What the hell...is this?!" Zoro groaned out, watching with wide eyes as the hand shot back towards Buggy and reattached itself.

"This is the power of the Bara Bara Fruit," Buggy explained. "The Devil Fruit I ate! Cutting me is pointless!"

"I-I thought the Devil Fruits were just a myth," Nami stuttered, taking a step back fearfully.

_'I guess Luffy hasn't shown her his own powers,'_ Lambo thought to himself while he watched Buggy warily.

Speaking of Luffy...

"Wow, that guy's a _freak_!" Luffy exclaimed in awe, gaining an incredulous look from Lambo.

"...Luffy, do you even realize the irony of that statement?"

The boy looked at him in confusion. "Whaddya mean?"

"...Never mind. More importantly..." Lambo turned back to look at Zoro and frowned worriedly. "We need to get you and Zoro out of here. He's injured and you're in a cage. We can't fight like this..."

"You honestly think I'll let you escape? Especially after you had the _gall_ to insult my nose?!" Buggy shouted, directing a glare at Lambo, who winced. He smirked at this and looked at Zoro, who was clutching his wound. "I missed his vital organs, but that's still a serious injury. He can't protect you three anymore."

"Dammit..." Zoro grunted in pain. "I wasn't expecting this..."

Lambo gritted his teeth as he thought desperately for some kind of strategy, or at least an escape route. _'Crap! What the hell are we supposed to do?! Luffy's in a cage, Zoro's down, the girl can't fight, and I don't think I can fight him on my own! I have to come up with something else...'_ He trailed off when he caught sight of the cannon. "...Luffy," He whispered, getting the other boy's attention. "We could use that cannon, but we'll need to distract him..."

It took a moment for Luffy to realize what he was getting at. Once he did, he nodded and turned to glare at Buggy before taking a deep breath and shouting, "Attacking from behind is unfair! You stupid BIG-NOSE!"

Buggy's crew all turned to gape at him. "Wh-What's _with_ these people?! Do they _want_ to die?!"

_'Dammit, Luffy, I said distract him, not make him want to kill you!'_ Lambo thought as he got to the cannon and tried to turn it around. _'Damn, it's heavy!'_

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING BIG-NOSE?!" Buggy shouted in rage as he threw one of his hands along with a dagger at Luffy, hitting him straight in the face.

Lambo's eyes widened as Nami let out a gasp and Zoro shouted, "Luffy!"

The boy just lifted his head up and grinned, dagger clamped tightly between his teeth. "I'm gonna kick your ass, Buggy!" He stated before biting down on the dagger and breaking it to pieces.

At this, Buggy burst out laughing. " _You're_ going to kick my ass? Really? I'd love to see you try! I'm gonna finish all four of you off right here and now!"

"This is it... We're doomed," Nami moaned in despair, running a hand through her hair.

"Kill us?" Luffy asked, laughing as well and causing Buggy to look at him in confusion. "I'd love to see _you_ try!" He turned to look at the swordsman. "Zoro! Run!"

"Huh?" Zoro looked at him in disbelief.

"Hey, what's the matter with you?! He came all this way to help you, and you're telling him to run away?!" Nami shouted at him angrily.

Luffy ignored her and continued to look at Zoro before moving his head in Lambo's direction so slightly that no one would notice unless they were looking at him closely. Zoro's eyes followed where he was gesturing towards only to widen when he saw Lambo struggling to turn the cannon around and towards Buggy.

Noticing him looking, Lambo shot him a pleading look. _'Zoro, I know you're injured and all, but I could really use some help here!'_ He thought.

Luckily for him, Zoro was quick to realize what was going on. "...Understood, Captain," he said, smirking.

"That's it... I just don't understand anymore..." Nami groaned. "This is why I hate pirates..."

"You really think I'd let you escape?!" Buggy shouted, dagger in his hand as he lunged at Zoro.

The swordsman parried each blow before swinging his sword at his chest, completely cutting it in half. Whilst the clown was pulling himself back together, Zoro shot past him and towards Lambo.

"Swords are useless against me, you-" He stopped and blinked bewilderedly when he realized that Zoro had passed by him already. "What the?! Hey, don't ignore me!"

Zoro did continue to ignore him, however, as he and Lambo managed to push the cannon all the way around.

"Wh-What are you doing?! Are you insane?!" Buggy shouted in panic.

Lambo quickly used the flame-like properties of his Dying Will Flames to ignite the cannon.

The clown pirates were panicking at this point. "Wait! Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait **WAIT**!"

_**BOOM!** _


	11. Treasure

"Zoro, what the hell are you _doing_?!" Lambo gaped as Zoro lifted the cage over his shoulder. "You're injured, you big green dumbass!"

"Sh-Shut it..." Zoro gritted his teeth, ignoring the fact that his wound (which was painful for Lambo to even _look_ at) squirted out blood with each movement he made. "This is nothing..."

Luffy frowned as he examined the wound from his place in the cage on Zoro's back. "You sure? You're bleeding all over the place."

"You shut up, too..."

"Wh-What's up with this guy?!" Nami exclaimed, eyes wide with disbelief. "And how the hell is he able to lift that thing when he just got stabbed?!"

"Hey, who's that girl?" Zoro grunted in question. "I think I heard you say her name was Nami or something, right?"

"Yeah, she's our new navigator," Luffy responded cheerfully.

"Th-This is insane!" Nami shouted. "Just what the hell are you guys?!"

Zoro didn't answer, instead taking step after grueling step forward, the cage held firmly over his shoulder.

"Seriously..." Lambo groaned before hurrying over and grabbing the other end of the cage. He doubted he was actually being much help, but he couldn't think of anything else to do, and this was better than nothing. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Away from here," Zoro grunted in an "isn't-it-obvious" kind of way.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it..." The cow-clad boy grumbled as he tried his best to be able to hold some of the weight.

"H-Hey! Hold it!" Nami said once she'd snapped out of her stupor. "Wh-Why are you doing this? You're..." She paused and her face hardened. "You're just pirates..." She muttered before turning on her heel and walking away.

Lambo frowned. "She really hates pirates, doesn't she? I wonder what happened?"

"Beats me..." Luffy mumbled with a frown.

Lambo gave a small sigh. "Rhetorical question, Luffy..."

XXX

Finally having pushed himself too far, Zoro let go of the cage, which he was at this point dragging instead of carrying, and fell to the ground. "Ugh..."

Lambo sat down next to him and frowned worriedly. "You okay, Zoro?"

Zoro scoffed. "This is nothing... I've had worse..."

"Somehow, I doubt that..." He looked at his wound and frowned further. "It's still bleeding... If only we had some bandages or something..."

"Hey," Luffy suddenly spoke up. "What's with this weird dog?"

Both of them blinked and turned to follow their captain's gaze. Standing a small distance away was a small, white floppy-eared dog. It didn't move at all. It just stood there, staring at them motionlessly.

"...It's kinda creepy..." Lambo mumbled after a few seconds of the silent staring.

Luffy grinned and pushed at the cage, causing it to move closer to the dog.

"...Could you have done that this whole time?" Lambo muttered in irritation. He was ignored.

Instead, Luffy initiated a staring contest with the dog, which didn't even seem to really look at him. After a while, Luffy started to pull at his face and make silly expressions to try to get the animal to react.

Nothing.

"...It's not moving," he said after a while.

"Who cares?" Zoro said as he dragged himself over to lean against a wall. "It's just a dog."

"Yeah, we have more important things to be worrying about right now," Lambo agreed, looking around at the empty-seeming houses. "I wonder where everyone is? We could really use a doctor right now..."

"Yeah, this dog looks like it's dead," Luffy said, nodding.

"That's not why we need a doctor..."

Luffy reached out and poked the dog between the eyes. No response. The boy continued poking it in that exact spot. After a few seconds of this, the dog's eyes narrowed, its teeth becoming slightly visible and a low growl barely being heard.

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro spoke up. "Maybe you should stop-"

"ARF!"

Both Zoro and Lambo blinked and stared as the dog latched its teeth onto Luffy's face, biting and pulling on his rubber-like skin.

"Whoa! Hey! What are you doing?! Let me go!" Luffy whined, trying to pull the animal off.

"Luffy, quit fooling around!" Zoro shouted at him, attempting to stand up only to fall back down as his wound squirted out more blood.

"And _you_ should quit _moving_ around," Lambo said as Luffy finally got the dog off of himself.

"Damn dog..." Luffy muttered, rubbing his face.

"I wonder if there's anyone here willing to give us bandages or something..." Lambo said as he watched the dog return to it's previous position, becoming an unmoving statue once more.

"You can't. Everyone in this village evacuated because of Buggy," a female voice called out.

"Yo, Navigator!" Luffy greeted cheerfully as the orange-haired girl jogged up to them.

"Hey, you're...Nami, right?" Lambo asked.

"Yeah," she said before turning to look at Zoro, seeming impressed. "I can't believe you actually dragged the cage all this way. Anyway, here." She tossed something over to them and it landed a few inches from Luffys' cage.

"A key?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah," Nami answered with a shrug. "I mean, you guys _did_ save my life. This is the least I could do."

"So you got it just for us?!" Luffy continued happily. "Thanks!"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not going to join your crew or anything, this just means we're even now."

"I'm saved!" The straw-hat boy cheered, reaching for the key. Before he could even touch it, however, the dog, in what was probably a petty act of revenge, grabbed the key in his mouth and swallowed it whole.

Everyone's jaws dropped as they stared at the animal in disbelief.

"H-Huh?" Nami stuttered.

"The hell?!" Zoro grunted.

"Are you kidding me...? How did he even swallow that...?" Lambo asked in shock.

A few seconds later, Luffy had his hands around the dog's neck, shaking him back and forth. "You stupid dog! Spit that out! Spit that out right now! Dammit!"

"Great. What now?" Zoro sighed.

Lambo grimaced. "I guess we're just going to have to wait for it to...you know."

Nami gave him a look. "...That's disgusting."

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing to Chouchou?!" Someone shouted, causing them to jump in surprise.

"Who's that old man?" Zoro asked as the man stomped over to him.

Lambo couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at the man's appearence. His hairstyle was something he was more likely to see on a poodle than a human being, and he was wearing some kind of hand-made armor that looked like it was fashioned out of wood.

"Stop picking on Chouchou, you punk!" He shouted at Luffy.

"Chouchou?" Luffy asked, looking at the dog he was still holding.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Nami asked him.

"I am Boodle, the mayor of this town! Now, who are _you_?" He shouted at them before catching sight of Zoro's injury. "Oh, my," he said, calming down. "That's a serious injury. Were you attacked by Buggy?"

"Yeah, we were," Luffy said, letting go of the dog, which quickly got back into its previous immobile position.

"Are there any doctors nearby?" Lambo asked. "Or at least some bandages or something?"

Boodle frowned. "No, everyone in town already evacuated a long time ago. My house is nearby, though, so I could wrap his wounds up there, then take him to a doctor."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Lambo said with a slight sigh of relief.

"Yeah! Thanks, old man!" Luffy echoed, grinning.

XXX

About thirty minutes later, the mayor walked back out of his house and towards them.

"How's Zoro?" Luffy immediately asked.

Boodle frowned. "I offered to take him to a doctor, but he said he just needed to sleep it off."

"Seriously?" Lambo sighed. "I wonder if it's even worth worrying about that guy...?"

"So this dog's name is Chouchou?" Nami changed the subject, patting said dog on the head. Chouchou glanced at her as she did, but made no move to attack.

"Why's he just sitting there like that?" Luffy asked, looking back at the animal.

"Was he abandoned here?" Lambo asked, his expression changing to sympathy.

The mayor shook his head. "No, he wasn't abandoned. He's guarding the store."

The three blinked and turned to get a closer look at the building. "Oh, I see, it's a pet food store!" Nami said in realization.

"If it's guarding it, then it must belong to it's owner, right?" Lambo asked as he knelt down to look at the dog, careful to keep his distance. Unlike Luffy, his skin wasn't made of rubber, after all. Couldn't be too careful.

"That's right," Boodle answered, nodding. "The owner of this store was a good friend of mine." With that, he went inside the store, coming out a few minutes later with a bowl of dog food in hand. "I come here everyday to feed Chouchou in his stead."

Nami frowned. "I thought you said he wasn't abandoned. This sure sounds like abandonment to me."

Boodle sadly shook his head. "My friend died from illness three months ago."

"O-Oh..." Nami said, her gaze now sad as she looked at the dog. "So he's waiting for his master to come back?"

"Well, that's what everyone says," the mayor replied with a shrug.

Lambo arched an eyebrow. "But you don't think so?"

Boodle nodded. "Chouchou is a smart dog. I'm sure he knows that his master is dead."

"Then why's he still guarding the store?" Nami asked.

"Because this store is Chouchou's treasure. It think it reminds him too much of his master for him to leave it. I kept trying to get him to leave and evacuate with the rest of us, but he wouldn't budge."

Finishing his food, Chouchou let out a yawn before going back into position. A few minutes passed by in silence afterwards. There was really nothing much to do at this point other than sit around and wait for something to happen.

That "something" came in the form of the now empty dog dish shaking back and forth. They all looked at it for a moment before feeling the vibrations running across the ground. Before anyone could comment on it, though, a loud roar revertebrated throughout the area.

"What the heck was that?" Nami asked, standing up and looking around.

"I-It's him!" Boodle shouted in panic, jumping to his feet. "Beast Tamer Mohji! We have to run!"

"Beast tamer?" Lambo asked right before the mayor grabbed both his and Nami's arms and yanked them away. "Whoa- hey!"

XXX

"So..." Lambo sighed once they'd finally stopped running. "Why exactly did you drag us here?"

Boodle looked at him incredulously. "Didn't you hear those footsteps, boy?! We had to get out of there!"

"Those were _footsteps_?!" Nami gasped. "They felt like mini _earthquakes_!"

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Lambo asked. "It sounded like a giant was coming or something."

"That's not too far off," the mayor said, calming down. "Beast Tamer Mohji is always riding a lion as large as a house."

"Are there really animals that big?" Lambo asked, frowning in disbelief before shaking his head. "Whatever, I'll believe it when I see it. More importantly, we left Luffy back there...

Boodle sighed. "Your friend is most likely doomed. There's no way he can fight against Mohji. And he's also trapped in a cage..."

Lambo's eyes widened before he grimaced. "Damn..." He turned and started to talk back towards the way they came from when his arm was grabbed yet again, stopping him.

"Hey, where the heck do you think you're going? He just said that there was a monster out there!" Nami shouted at him.

"Yeah, that's why I need to go make sure Luffy and Zoro are alright," Lambo said, turning to look back at her, his expression troubled.

Nami let him go and crossed her arms. "Why do you even care, anyway? You're a pirate! Betraying others to save your own skin is what you do, right?"

Lambo felt a burning rage start to build inside of him as he turned and glared at her. Seeing her step back in fear, he forced himself to calm down. "...Look," he started. "I don't know what happened to you or why you hate pirates so much, but it doesn't give you the right to judge me or Luffy or Zoro based on just that. There are tons of assholes out there that _aren't_ pirates, right?"

Nami regained her composer and hmph-ed. "Can you name one other pirate out there that _isn't_ a scumbag?"

Lambo opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. "Well...you got me there."

Nami smirked. "See? You should just ditch them. You'd be much better off that way."

"I'm not just going to abandon my friends like that," Lambo said firmly. "Besides, wouldn't that make me just as bad as those scumbags you're talking about?"

"Hey, hold on now, young man," Boodle interjected, walking over to them. "Are you sure about this? Do you even know whether your friend is still alive or not?"

Lambo crossed his arms and looked in the direction they came from. "Well, it's Luffy, so I'm sure he'll be alright."

Just as soon as he said that, a red blur flew past them and crashed into one of the buildings nearby. All three blinked and turned around to watch as said building was reduced to a pile of wood and stone.

A few seconds later, his familiar straw-hat wearing captain stood up and brushed himself off, smiling brightly. "Haha! I wasn't expecting that!"

"What the hell?!" Nami yelled in surprise.

Lambo blinked. "...Huh."

"You're alive?!" Boodle gaped.

Luffy tilted his head to the side. "Yeah. Is that bad?"

"You just crashed into a _house_! You don't just get up from that!" Nami shouted in disbelief.

"Really? It's pretty normal for me, though," Luffy shrugged.

"Luffy, what exactly happened?" Luffy asked, ignoring the gaping girl and old man. "Why did you fly into a house?"

Luffy looked at him and grinned. "Oh, that. A giant lion hit me and I ended up here."

"So there really _is_ a giant lion... Are you okay?"

Luffy waved off the other boy's concern. "I'm _fine_. I fought monsters bigger than that when I was a kid!"

"Somehow, this doesn't surprise me..."

"You, kid," the mayor spoke up. "They say you're a pirate... Why exactly did you come to this town? Are you all part of Buggy's crew?"

Luffy frowned. "Hm? Nope. I'm here to get a navigator and a map of the Grand Line!"

"Did you _just_ come up with that?" Lambo muttered, remembering the bird incident. "And where the heck are you going to find a map of the Grand Line?"

"That Buggy guy has one," Luffy answered as he started walking away. "I gotta go back, that weirdo with the lion was looking for Zoro."

"What? Wait, I'm coming, too!" Lambo called out, hurrying after him.

XXX

"Ah, so that's what happened..." Lambo said, nodding. While they were walking back towards the pet food store, he had asked Luffy to fill him in on what exactly happened after that bird had taken him all the way here. "If Big-Nose has a map of the Grand Line, then it's pretty lucky that you were dropped off here of all places."

Luffy grinned and laughed. "Yeah! Maybe I should do stuff like that more often, huh?"

"I wouldn't go that far... By the way, do you remember the way back to that store?"

"Hmmm...nope!"

"Then where are we going?"

"I dunno. I was just following you."

"...You're walking in front of me, Luffy."

Luffy stopped and blinked. "Oh... Hey, do you remember where it was?"

Lambo sighed. "How should I know? I was just following you... Wait, what's that?"

"Hm?" Luffy followed his gaze to see a bright orange light coming from one of the far-off buildings. He frowned and tilted his head a bit. "...Fire?"

"...Unfortunately, that's probably where Zoro is."

"Let's go get him, then!"

XXX

Reaching the source of the fire, the two boys instantly screetched to a halt at the sight before them.

The pet food store was gone. In it's place was a torrent of wood, stone, brick, and fire. So much fire.

Chouchou, beaten and bloodied, sat in front of it all, howling again and again and again...

Lambo clenched his fists as the mayor's words came back to him.

_Because this store is Chouchou's treasure. I think it reminds him too much of his master for him to leave it. I kept trying to get him to leave and evacuate with the rest of us, but he wouldn't budge."_

"Th-This is horrible..." Lambo said, walking over to the dog. "And he's covered in so many injuries...did he try to fight the lion?"

"...This place was his treasure..."

Lambo blinked and turned back around. "Luffy?"

"And that bastard did _this_ to it..."

Lambo couldn't help but shrink back a bit. He had never seen Luffy look so... _enraged_ before. His eyes were shadowed by his hat, so he couldn't see his expression, but he could practically feel the anger rolling off of him in waves.

And just as suddenly as it came, it was gone.

Lambo blinked in surprise as Luffy suddenly looked up, turned on his heel, and started to run away.

"...?! Luffy? Where are you going?!"

Luffy looked back at him as he continued to run. "I'm gonna find that guy and kick his ass! Take care of things here, Lambo!"

And just like that, he was gone.

Lambo stared after him for a moment before sighing and looking back at Chouchou. "That poodle guy had bandages in his home, right? Come on, doggy, I'll patch you back up."

Chouchou blinked and looked up at him as if he just realized he was there. After a few moments, he stood up and slowly and shakily started to walk towards the mayor's house before his legs finally gave way.

Lambo's eyes widened and he quickly rushed to him. Much to his relief, it seemed to be more from exhaustion rather than his injuries. Sighing in relief, he reached out and patted the dog's head. "On second thought, I'll bring them to you."

XXX

Nami's eyes widened at the scene before her.The shop was in ruins with smoke rising from it in various places, the fire having put itself out a while ago.

Chouchou was covered in bandages, some of which were covered in veigue red spots, and was sitting next to Lambo, who was finishing bandaging one of his legs.

"What... What happened?"

"The store... Chouchou's treasure..." Boodle said as he stared at it all.

"Oh, Nami," Lambo said, getting up and walking over to her. He grimaced. "That beast tamer guy and his lion probably did this."

Nami's eyes widened before her expression contorted into a glare. "I knew it... Pirates are all alike, they just pillage and plunder and don't care who gets hurt or killed...!"

"Nami..." Lambo started before he spotted a familiar figure making his way towards them. "Luffy?"

Nami's head shot up and turned in his direction to see the boy walking up to them, holding a box in his hands. "...So, you're still alive, pirate," she said coldly. "I was hoping you'd be eaten by that lion... You're a pirate, too. You're no different from them!" She started to walk towards him. "If you're going to just get a crew to do the same thing, then I'll kill you right here myself!"

Lambo's eyes widened as he and Boodle quickly grabbed her by the arms, stopping her.

"Wait, miss, please stop!"

"Nami, stop! Calm down!"

"Shut up! You're just a filthy pirate, too! Let me go!"

Luffy just walked past them, barely glancing at her. "Like you can kill me."

"Then fight me!"

"Luffy, don't encourage her!"

Nami finally did stop, however, in surprise when she saw the other boy place the box he had been holding in front of Chouchou before sitting down next to him. He smiled down at the dog, his expression almost apologetic.

"This is all I could save. That stupid lion ate the rest. You fought really bravely, though! I wasn't there to watch, but I can tell!"

Chouchou stared down at the box of pet food for a long while before sitting up, grabbing it in his mouth, and starting to walk away. A few seconds later, he paused and looked back, letting out a bark, the box falling out of his mouth.

"Arf! Arf!"

Luffy looked back at him and grinned. "Good luck to you, too, doggy!"

"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Finishing his barks of gratitude, Chouchou grabbed the box again and continued on his way.

Realizing that Nami was no longer trying to lunge towards his captain, Lambo tentatively let go of her and smiled. "See, Nami? There are pirates like that, too..."

"...Yeah, I guess there are," the girl finally said before walking towards Luffy. "Hey, sorry about earlier. I lost control of myself there..."

Luffy grinned up at her. "S'alright. You have your reasons, right?" He asked, sitting up and dusting himself off.

"Dammit!" The mayor suddenly shouted, causing the other three to jump and look at him in surprise. Boodle was glaring down at the ground angrily, fists clenched. "Chouchou and that kid both fought so hard... But I, the mayor, couldn't do anything to save this town!"

"C-Calm down, Mayor!" Nami said as she, Luffy, and Lambo hurried in front of the old man to stop him from charging off.

"...Forty years ago, there was absolutely nothing here... The townspeople and I worked hard and built a community out of _nothing_... This town and its people...they're my treasure! I won't let Buggy hurt either one anymore!"

"But...what can you do?" Lambo asked hesitantly.

Before anyone could reply, however, the familiar sound of a cannon ball flew past them and into one of the houses yet again.

"There goes my house..." Boodle said with a defeated sigh.

Luffy's eyes widened. "Zoro was sleeping in there!"

"I wonder if he survived..." The mayor mumbled.

Lambo cupped his hands and shouted, "Zoro! Are you still alive?!"

They all waited with bated breath.

"...Jeez, talk about a rude awakening..."

Luffy broke out in his biggest grin yet. "Zoro!"

The swordsman groaned as he put a hand to his head, emerging from the rubble. "Damn it...I'm still tired. What the hell happened anyway?"

"It's a long story. We'll tell you all about it later," Lambo said with a relieved smile.

"H-How is that guy not dead?" Nami muttered in disbelief. "Are you guys monsters or something...?"

"I've had enough!" The mayor shouted, jumping to his feet. "That pirate has no right to destroy forty years of hard work! It's my responsibility to protect this place! I'm putting a stop to this right now!"

Nami's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed onto him to stop him from moving. "Wait, Mayor!"

"There are some fights you can't afford to run from! Isn't that right, kid?!" Boodle continued.

Luffy grinned. "That's right!"

"STOP ENCOURAGING HIM! What can he possibly do?! This is just reckless!"

"I'M AWARE OF THAT!" The mayor finally shouted.

Nami let him go in shock and watched as he ran away, shouting Buggy's name.

"He...He was crying..." She mumbled.

"Really?" Luffy asked. "I didn't notice."

"He's willing to fight for his town even if he knows it's hopless..." Lambo said with a frown. "He's an idiot, but he sure has guts..."

"Don't worry. I like that old guy, so I won't let him die!"

"I guess that's an order, then," Zoro said, standing up and walking in the direction the old man went.

Lambo looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure, Zoro? Your injury-"

"-Is nothing compared to the injury to my pride if I let that clown beat me," the green-haired man interrupted, grinning as he tied his signature bandanna around his head.

Lambo let out a sigh but couldn't help but smile. "I guess we're idiots, too... Let's go then. We need to get that map, right?"

His captain grinned and nodded. "Yep! Hey, Nami," he turned towards the girl, who was staring at them in disbelief, and reached out a hand. "Be our nakama!"

Nami glared at him. "I have no interest in becoming a pirate, but..." She smiled and slapped his hand. It took Lambo a moment to realize that it was a highfive. "I guess we could partner up for now."

"Alright, let's go save that old man!"

XXX

"BUGGY! SHOW YOURSELF!"

The clown pirate turned and frowned when he saw an old man standing at the front of the building, breathing as if he had just run a marathon. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am Mayor Boodle! I'm here to defend this town- no, my treasure!"

Buggy smirked. "Are you an idiot or something? 'Treasure' is gold and silver and jewels, not some crappy town!"

"Someone like you will never understand- GAH!" The mayor gasped as something grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up into the air.

Buggy continued to smirk. "I'm about to conquer the Grand Line. Then, all the treasure in the world will belong to me, no one else! If this town is so important to you, then you can die along with it!"

"Q-Quit your babbling...and fight me!"

"Don't make me laugh!"

"I-I will protect this town...EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

"Enough of your bull- Wha?!" Buggy grimaced in pain as his severed hand was yanked from the old man's throat and squeezed to the point where he was afraid a bone might break. "St-Strawhat!"

Luffy looked up at him and grinned. "I'm here to kick your ass, just like I promised!"


	12. Pirates' Battle

"I'm here to kick your ass, just like I promised!" Luffy shouted at the clown, smirking as he let go of his hand, which floated back to its owner and snapped into place.

"It's _you_ four again!" Buggy snarled down at them. "So you actually had the guts to come back and face the mighty Captain Buggy, huh?!"

"Yare, yare. He has no problems with modesty," Lambo sighed before turning to look at Nami. "You should probably get back."

Nami humphed and glared at him. "I'm just here for the map and treasure, so don't try to get me involved in _your_ fight, got it?"

"Right, right..."

"What... What are you kids doing here?!" The mayor shouted, coughing. "This is _my_ town, and I'm going to protect it! So don't get in my way!" He grabbed the weapon he had dropped, a homemade wooden spear, and charged forward once again.

And then Luffy grabbed him by the head and slammed him face-first against the nearby wall.

Every single eye stared in disbelief as Luffy dusted his hands off, letting the old man fall onto the ground, unconscious.

"What the hell are you _doing_?!" Nami shrieked at him. "Why would you do that?!"

"'Cause he was in the way," Luffy said flatly, smiling.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Hey, that's good thinking," Zoro spoke up, causing her to look at him in disbelief.

"That old man would have gotten himself killed. This is for the best," Lambo stated before looking at the unconscious man and wincing. "...Though this might have been pushing it a bit. I don't think limbs should bend that way..."

"There is something wrong with _all_ of you," the girl grumbled.

"Alright! Here I go!" Luffy interrupted as he turned his attention back to the clown and took a deep breath.

Lambo's eyes widened slightly. _'Luffy, are you gonna do what I think you're gonna do?'_

"HEEEEYYY! STUPID BIG NOOOOSE!"

He couldn't resist facepalming. _'He is. He really is. Fine, let's just get this over with...'_

Next to him, Zoro stood a bit straighter, his hand tightening around his sword, while Nami just shouted "WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?! YOU IDIOT!"

"...You're really pissing me off, kid," Buggy growled, gritting his teeth. "No one has insulted my nose and lived to tell about it! That includes you, Cow-Boy! Don't think I've forgotten!" He added, pointing his finger at Lambo, who blinked.

"You're _still_ upset about that?" He asked in disbelief. "That was literally _hours_ ago!"

"I'm the kind of guy who keeps grudges! FIRE THE BUGGY BALL!"

"Damn it, this is all your fault, you dumbass!" Nami shouted at Luffy before turning on her heel and running away.

"Maybe we should follow her example?" Lambo asked nervously, taking a few steps back.

"Oi, Luffy, let's go!" Zoro shouted as well.

To their surprise, their captain just smirked. "Don't worry! That won't work on me!"

"What are you talking about-" Lambo started, trying to talk some sense into the boy, but he quickly shut his mouth, completely baffled by what happened next.

"Gomu Gomu no..." Luffy took a deep, deep breath, causing his body to start to expand at a rapid pace. "Balloon!"

Nami, along with every pirate within viewing distance, had their jaws drop as they watched the cannon ball sink into the boy's now massive stomach before being flung back with a force.

"What the?! He bounced it back!"

"You could give us a warning," Zoro grumbled while Lambo just stared at the scene with a sort of reluctant awe.

"I know he's made of rubber and all, but is that even biologically _possible_?" He mumbled. "Did his lungs expand into his stomach or something...?"

The Buggy Ball crashed into the building the pirates had been standing on, quickly being followed by the familiar sound of an explosion as the entire area was filled with smoke and debris.

"I really should just stop questioning these things," Lambo muttered before turning his gaze towards Nami, who had crouched down onto the ground in the wake of the loud explosion. "You okay over there?"

"Y-Yeah," she said in a dazed way before looking at Luffy and then back to Lambo. "What... What the hell _is_ that guy?!"

Lambo looked in Luffy's direction and answered. "He's a rubberman...apparently."

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

"It means he's made of rubber," Zoro stated as he observed the damage. "Nice job, Captain."

"Hold on!" Nami exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "What the hell do you mean he's made of rubber?! Something like that isn't even _possible_!"

"I ate the Gomu Gomu Fruit," Luffy explained, grinning a carefree grin.

" _You_ ate a Devil Fruit, too?!"

Lambo caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye as Nami continued to scream at Luffy. Turning in its direction, his eyes narrowed. "Crap... Hey, you guys, this isn't over yet!"

The three stopped and turned their attention back to the rubble, startled to see Buggy standing up, unharmed. His severed hands, however, were holding two unconscious (or at least Lambo hoped they were only unconscious) pirates in front of him as human shields.

"He used his crew as a shield, huh?" Nami said, sounding disgusted. "Just what I've come to expect from a filty pirate..."

"Ugh... What the? What happened?"

"Another one?" Lambo asked as he turned towards the voice.

"Oh, hey! It's that lion guy!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing at him.

"You mean the beast tamer?"

"Yeah, him."

Hearing them, the man, Beast Tamer Mohji, looked in their direction only for his eyes to widen as he pointed a trembling finger at Luffy. "It's you!"

Lambo took a closer look at the man, his eyes lingering on his hair, which had two bear-like ears pointed out of his head. "What's with his costume?"

"He says that that was his real hair," Luffy pointed out helpfully as his crewmate just looked at him in disbelief.

"...What is _wrong_ with this pirate crew?"

"Captain Buggy! Be careful!" Mohji continued, rushing over to his captain. "This is the guy who beat me! He ate one of the Devil Fruits, too! He's a rubberman!"

"So that's how he was able to do that..." Buggy muttered, glaring at the boy.

"Captain," a new voice called, prompting Buggy to turn his head back slightly. Seeing who it was, he smirked.

"Ah, Cabaji," he said. "You finally made it."

"Great, another weirdo," Lambo mumbled as he looked at this new pirate.

He was a fairly slender man with long black hair that covered half of his face, while the other half had a shaved design. He wore a long white and blue checkered scarf that almost reached down to his ankles, an open blue sleeveless jacket, and a pair of long white pants along with matching white shoes. What stuck out the most, though, was the fact that he was holding up a giant white lion, which was now covered in injuries and smoking slightly, as a shield, much like Buggy had done. Also the fact that he was balancing himself on a freaking _unicycle_.

"Cabaji, you bastard!" Mohji shouted in rage. "What did you do to Ritchie?!"

The other man, Cabaji, shrugged and let go of the lion, letting it flop onto the ground. "I didn't want to get my clothes dirty, so I used it as a shield."

"R-Ritchie!" Mohji shouted in horror before rushing to the lion's side. "Ritchie! Are you okay?! Pull yourself together!"

The lion just lied there for a few moments before weakly opening its eyes, which quickly locked on to Cabaji. At that moment, it seemed that all the strength returned to the lion's body, as it shot up off the ground and scurried to hide behind one of the ruined buildings, peeking out slightly and shivering in fear.

"And to think, I was actually a bit scared of that thing..." Lambo muttered as he watched the animal with half-lidded eyes.

"R-Ritchie... Cabaji, you bastard!" Mohji shouted in anger, lunging towards the other man, fist clentched in anticipation for a punch. Cabaji, however, effortlessly dodged it and sent a kick to the man's side, sending him into the air as if he were nothing more than a ball.

Lambo's eyes widened when he realized that it was heading straight towards him and Luffy. Before he even had time to process what was happening, he had already out of reflex sent a beam of Lightning Flames towards the man, sending him flying into the wall, twitching slightly as electricity crackled around him.

"Wh-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Nami shouted, looking at him as if _he_ was the strangest person here now. "What the hell did you just do?! Did you eat one of those weird fruits, too?!"

"You might have gone a little overboard," Zoro stated, sweatdropping as he watched Mohji continue to spasm and emit the emerald flames.

Lambo sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Sorry, I sort of panicked there for a second." _'I'm really not used to real combat yet...'_

"You beat him, though, so who cares?" Luffy responded with a grin. "Besides, that lightningy thing you do is still awesome!"

"Stop ignoring me and tell me what he did!" Nami shouted angrily.

"Captain," Cabaji started as the four crewmates continued on.

"What is it, Cabaji?"

"Please allow me to handle this."

Buggy smirked. "Alright, show them your acrobatics!"

Lambo tore himself away from the shouting of their (apparently) navigator and looked back at them. "Acrobatics?"

Before he could even think anything else, Cabaji was steering towards them, sword drawn.

"Heads up, Luffy," Lambo warned once he realized that the man was aiming towards the both of them. Then, suddenly, Zoro was in front of them once again, blocking the sword with one of his own. "Zoro?!"

"Since you're a swordsman, I'll be your opponent," Zoro stated, not once breaking eye contact with his opponent.

"What?! But you're still..." He trailed off, his eyes going towards the wound on the green-haired man's side.

"That seems fair, Roronoa Zoro," Cabaji stated, smirking. "It's an honor to fight you as a swordsman..."

"Hey, Zoro, you should be resting," Luffy said, frowning in concern. "We can take care of him."

Lambo hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yeah, I don't think you're in any shape to fight right now."

Zoro glanced back at them. "You two stay out of this. This is my fight."

As he said this, Cabaji's gaze landed on his wound, his smirk growing wider. "Acrobat Technique: Old Man's Flame!"

Bringing his hand to his mouth, he started to blow, scorching orange flames flowing out of his mouth as opposed to mere air.

"What the?!" Zoro shouted as he put his arm up to his face, wincing as the heat burned his skin. Being blinded by the flames, he didn't see Cabaji's foot coming towards him before it was too late, and he let out a shout of pain as it landed on his wound, causing it to open back up and flecks of blood to spill. Still yelling in pain, he fell onto the ground, grimacing as the bleeding continued.

"What's the matter? I didn't kick you _that_ hard," Cabaji said, smirking down at him.

"He's fighting dirty," Nami said, looking concerned at the blood stain on Zoro's bandages, which was steadily getting larger and redder.

"'It's an honor to fight you as a swordsman' my ass," Lambo scowled before turning to Luffy. "Luffy, I think we should step in."

"No."

Lambo blinked and looked at the other boy in disbelief. "What?! Why?!"

"This is Zoro's fight. He doesn't want us to help him."

"But...!"

Luffy turned to him with a small, reassuring smile. "You gotta have more faith in your nakama, Lambo. We'll jump in only if we really need to."

Lambo blinked and stared at him in surprise for a moment before slowly nodding. "Right. You're the captain, after all."

"Acrobat Technique: Murder at the Steam Bath!" Cabaji shouted, starting to spin his blade like a windmill, causing sand and dirt to fly off the ground and into the air, creating a cloud of dust.

"What's up with this guy's weird attack names?" Lambo asked, shielding his eyes as some of the dust came in their direction.

"'Acrobat Technique?' It's just an ordinary dust cloud," Zoro said as he struggled to get back up of the ground. His eyes widened when the form of a sword shot through the dust and quickly blocked it with his own, but as a result was unable to see the foot coming right towards his wound once again. "AAARGH!"

"That asshole did it again!" Nami snarled as Lambo looked at Luffy.

"Luffy..."

The other boy shook his head, although Lambo could clearly see a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Cabaji mocked. "A grown man crying in pain is just disgraceful. Now do you see how foolish it was to make enemies out of Captain Buggy and his crew?"

"Hey, you two!" Nami shouted at Luffy and Lambo, finally having enough. "Enough already! Go help him!"

"Luffy, this is starting to look really bad," Lambo added in agreement. "He's not fighting fairly. We should stop this."

Luffy just continued to watch the fight, expressionless. "...Zoro isn't going to lose to someone like him."

"Are you stupid or something?!" Nami yelled.

"...Yare, yare. You really believe in him, huh?" Lambo muttered before looking back at the fight, still looking really concerned, but... "I guess I'll try to believe in him, too, then."

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" The orange-haired girl continued.

"And with this, Roronoa Zoro is defeated!" Cabaji shouted, snapping their attention back to him. He was riding towards Zoro once again, sword aiming for his chest. "It's over!"

"You..." Zoro mumbled, getting up off the floor, his eyes unseen under his bandanna. Then, as soon as Cabaji was within reaching distance, his hand rushed forward, catching the man's chin with the hilt of his sword and sending him sprawling towards the ground. "You're really annoying. Is poking my wound that much fun for you?"

"What the- He got up!" Nami said in awe.

"Can nothing keep this guy down?" Lambo asked with wide eyes.

"Told ya!" Luffy said, grinning. "Kick his ass, Zoro!"

"Y-You... How can you get up after that?!" Cabaji asked, forcing himself up.

"If you like going after my wound that much, then here, I'll give myself a handicap for you."

"Wha?"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror as Zoro brought his sword to his wound and cut into it. From the blood that began gushing out, they could tell it was deep.

"What the hell?!" Nami gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

Lambo was just in utter disbelief. "What the hell, Zoro?!"

Zoro, however, completely ignored them. "Now," he said, smirking at Cabaji. "Let me show you the real difference between you and me."

"Alright! So cool!" Luffy cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

Cabaji smirked, although nervous sweat ran down his face. "So this is the famous Roronoa Zoro, huh? Do you really think you can mock me in your condition?"

"My aim is to become the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro stated. "That means that I can't lose even once to anyone who fights me with a sword, understand?"

"I see... That strong resolve of yours must be what keeps you going. Don't worry, though. A wound like that is a good enough excuse for when you lose to me."

Zoro scoffed. "Screw that. If I lose because of a flesh wound like this, I don't have much of a future ahead of me."

Cabaji's smirk disappeared and his eyes narrowed in anger. "Why you..."

"Did he seriously just call that a flesh wound?" Lambo asked, looking at the still-bleeding cut. "If he were anyone other than Zoro, he'd be passed out on the ground at this point."

"See? I told you that you should have faith in your nakama!" Luffy said, grinning widely. "Do it, Zoro!"

"Faith in your nakama, huh?" Lambo mumbled, frowning. "It's gonna be hard to live up to that..."

"Hm? You say something?"

"No, nothing..."

"...I can't go along with this." Both of them stopped and turned to Nami, who looked a bit calmer than before and was frowning and crossing her arms. "You pirates can get yourselves killed for all I care. It doesn't matter to me whether you win or lose."

"Where are you going?" Lambo asked as she turned and started walking away. "It's dangerous by yourself."

Nami turned back and smirked. "I'm gonna use this chance to swipe their treasure and get the hell out of here. If we happen to meet up someday, let's team up again. So, see ya! And good luck with your fight!"

"Yeah, see ya!" Luffy answered back with a wave as she turned and ran out of their sight.

"Wait, so does she like us or not?" Lambo asked in a deadpan tone. "I just don't understand her..." He turned back towards the fight and blinked when he saw that Cabaji was now holding some spinning tops in one hand.

"Acrobat Technique: Dance of 1000 Kamikaze Tops!" He shouted, throwing top after spinning top at his opponent.

Zoro's swords easily cut through the thousand spinning tops, but it soon became clear that they were only meant as a distraction.

"Acrobat Techinque: A Hike in the Mountains!" Cabaji shouted before riding his unicycle vertically up the wall and launching himself up into the air right above Zoro. "Acrobat Technique: Fireworks in the Cool Summer Breeze!"

"How did he even do that?!" Lambo asked in shock.

"Whoa! He's way high up!" Luffy shouted beside him.

"Sting of the Unicycle!" The acrobat pointed his sword downwards as he fell right towards Zoro.

In the background, Buggy smirked and extended his hand out. "Ground Hugging Bara Bara Cannon!" His hand shot away from the rest of his body and headed straight towards Zoro. "Cabaji! I'll hold him down and you finish him off!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Damn you two!" Zoro snarled.

And then the hand was sent spasming to the ground by a burst of emerald flames. At the same moment, Zoro dove to the side, avoiding Cabaji's blade.

"Ow, what the hell?!" Buggy shouted, clutching his arm in pain.

"Nice shot, Lambo!" Luffy praised, walking over to the hand. Seeing it trying to get up again, he slammed his foot down on it.

"Thanks," Zoro said, glancing at Lambo.

Lambo ran a hand through his hair, slightly embarrassed. "Well, we weren't just going to let him interrupt your fight."

"Damn you both..." Buggy snarled.

Cabaji glared at Zoro. "I can defeat you easily enough even without my captain's help."

"Enough already..." Zoro panted out. "I'm tired..."

Cabaji laughed mockingly at him. "Finally give up, huh? Though, I must say, I'm impressed you managed to fight me with such injuries."

"I don't think you get it," Zoro continued, pushing himself up off the ground. "What I'm tired of is..." He looked up, glaring directly into his opponent's eyes. "Your crappy excuse for acrobatics."

Cabaji's eyes widened slightly as his smirk became forced. "Fine then... I'll fight you with my _real_ sword skills!" He shouted before charging forward, not even bothering to call out the name of whatever attack he was doing in his need to kill Zoro.

Zoro stood up straight, crossing his arms so that both swords were on either side of him. "Oni...Giri!"

The two swordsman passed through each other. There was a moment of silence before blood suddenly gushed out of Cabaji's chest and the man fell forward. He didn't get back up.

Buggy's eyes widened in disbelief. "Cabaji!"

"The Buggy pirates..." The downed man groaned out. "Beaten by mere thieves..."

"We're not thieves," Zoro said before he finally fell to the ground, exhausted. "We're pirates!"

"So he is human after all," Lambo said, though there was a smile on his face. "You okay, Zoro?"

"Yeah... I'm going to sleep... You two can handle the rest..."

"Leave it to us!" Luffy grinned, turning towards Buggy.

"So, the captain's the only one left now?" Lambo said, walking to stand beside Luffy.

"Yeah, let's do it, Lambo!"

"R-Right..." Lambo nodded, trying to hide his hesitation as he turned to face their opponent.

"You guys are pirates?!" Buggy asked, sounding surprised as he walked over to stand across from them.

"That's right! We're going to the Grand Line!" Luffy answered back at him.

"The Grand Line? That's not something a nameless group of rookie pirates like you can handle, dumbass! What are you planning to do in the Grand Line anyway? Got sightseeing? Hahahahaha!"

"Become King of the Pirates."

"Haha- WHAT?!" Buggy shouted, his expression turning from mocking to shocked, and then finally to angry. "Get real, you flashy idiot!"

Lambo blinked. "Flashy?"

"If you're the Pirate King, then I'm God!" Buggy continued, apparently too angry to spare him a glance. " _I'm_ going to become King of the Pirates and obtain all this world's treasure!"

"You're annoying. Let's just do this already!" Luffy said impatiently.

"So, we're starting..." Lambo mumbled, eyeing Buggy nervously. This was going to be his first real fight. The three not-bandits didn't count, as they were civilians and couldn't last two seconds with someone who could use Dying Will Flames. And Morgan didn't count either since he was already almost down thanks to Luffy before he and Zoro finished him off. At this point, it wouldn't have even mattered if the Vongola _had_ trained him. No matter how well-trained someone was, they could and would still panic when faced with real combat. But still, he couldn't afford to lose and show that Luffy's faith in him as nakama was misplaced.

Buggy glared them down, taking out his daggers, four in each hand. "You..." He snarled at Luffy. "Seeing that straw hat of yours reminds me of _him_. That damn flashy red-head!"

Luffy's eyes widened. "Red-head?"

Lambo blinked in confusion and once again asked, "Flashy?"

"Hey, are you talking about Shanks?!" Luffy instantly demanded.

Lambo turned to look at him in surprise. "Luffy? Who's Shanks?"

Buggy also looked confused. "Huh? Yeah, why?"

"Do you know where he is?!"

Seeing how serious Luffy was about this, Buggy smirked. "Maybe I know where he is, maybe I don't."

Luffy's serious expression turned into an utterly confused one. "What? Are you stupid or something?"

"...Pfft." Lambo immediately clasped a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter, but that didn't stop Buggy from hearing it.

" _You're_ the stupid one here! And you, STOP LAUGHING!" He shouted at them angrily. "What I _mean_ is that I'm not nice enough to just tell you what you want to know!"

"Then we'll just make you tell us!" Luffy declared, grinning.

"So, we're actually starting then?" Lambo mumbled, becoming serious once again. "Luffy, to be honest, I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be. I mean, I've never..." He trailed off.

"You said you wanted to get stronger, right?" Luffy asked, prompting him to look back at him. "You can't get stronger if you don't fight." The straw-hat wearing boy grinned. "Don't worry! We're nakama, so I'll protect you!"

Lambo stared at him in surprise before nodding ."R-Right..."

"Bara Bara Rice Cracker!"

Turning back to Buggy, their eyes widened when they saw that his legs had separated from his body and were coming towards them, spinning around like a windmill. Upon closer inspection, there were daggers sticking out of the soles of each shoe, ready to cut them up.

Lambo dived to the side while Luffy jumped up into the air, each narrowly avoiding it.

"You can't dodge in midair!" Buggy shouted, throwing daggers in the air towards Luffy, only for his eyes to widen when said daggers were shot out of the air by green shots of electricity. Turning towards the source, he narrowed his eyes at Lambo. "Don't think I've forgotten about you!" He shouted, throwing some more daggers his way.

Lambo's eyes widened once he caught sight of them, realizing he wouldn't be able to react fast enough. _'Shit! I can't dodge!'_

"Lambo!"

"Huh? Whoa!" He yelped when a hand clasped his arm and he was suddenly yanked out of the way. Landing on the floor, he looked up just in time to see Luffy's arm snapping back into place.

"You okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Thanks, Luffy."

"Those are interesting abilities you two have," Buggy said, looing at them interestedly.

"You too!" Luffy said, grinning.

"Luffy, you're not suppose to compliment your enemy," Lambo mumbled as he stood up, wobbling slightly as he felt the adreneline rush.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy shouted, throwing a punch towards Buggy, his arm extending out towards him with the force of a pistol.

Buggy sidestepped the arm, which then grabbed onto the branch of a tree behind him. "You left yourself wide open!" He smirked, bringing his handful of daggers down towards the boy's outstretched arm.

Luffy quickly let his feet off the ground, catapulting himself towards Buggy as his arm started to revert back to it's normal length. "Gomu Gomu no..."

"Bara Bara Quick Escape!"

"Sickle!"

Luffy extended his free arm outwards as he approached Buggy, intent on slamming it into his neck. At the last second, Buggy's head separated from the rest of his body, causing Luffy to miss him completely and continue catapulting past him, crashing into one of the buildings as a result.

Buggy smirked as his head returned to his body. "Hahahahaha! Not good enough, rubberman!"

"Elettrico Cornata!"

"What the?" Buggy quickly turned towards the voice and his eyes widened when he saw Lambo charging towards him, emerald green electricity crackling around the two horns on either side of his head. "Ugh!" He jumped out of the way, but hadn't reacted quickly enough as the electric fire caught his right leg, enveloping it as Buggy let out a shout of pain and landed on the ground.

The lightning around Lambo crackled out of existance as he stopped near Luffy, who had gotten up out of the wreckage of the house he had crashed into. "You okay, Luffy?"

"Yeah! That thing you did was awesome!" The pirate exclaimed ecstatically. He then pointed at the horns on his head. "What are those?"

Lambo self-consciously reached a hand up to one of them. "This is my Thunder Set. It works great as a weapon because I can channel my Lightning Flames into it. I can also make them conduct real electricity in thunderstorms, too."

Luffy flashed a grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but it was really cool!"

Lambo just stared at him for a few seconds and sighed. "...Don't even know why I bother. Let's just get back to the fight."

"You..." Buggy grunted as he forced himself up, causing the two to stop and look at him. "So that wasn't some flashy parlor trick after all... Just what kind of Devil Fruit did you eat, anyway?!"

Lambo frowned at him. "I didn't eat any Devil Fruit."

"Bullshit! You're telling me you can just do something like that naturally?! Are you some kind of monster or something?!"

"That's a bit uncalled for, especially coming from someone who can behead themselves," Lambo said flatly.

"Shut it, you stupid brat! This is for my nose! Bara Bara Cannon!" Buggy brought both his arms forward and shot them towards them, each one again holding four daggers.

Lambo dived to the left to avoid one while Luffy grabbed the other, stopping it inches from his face. Seeing this, Buggy smirked.

"Separate!"

The hand separated from the arm Luffy was holding back, and he barely had time to move his head to the side as it shot past him, daggers leaving three long, bleeding scratches on his face and causing him to lose his balance and fall.

"Hah! How do you like that, you punk?!" Buggy gloated as his arms and hands came back to him and snapped back into place.

"Damn it, that was a close one..." Lambo mumbled as he stood back up. Turning towards Luffy, his eyes widened when he saw the blood pouring down the side of his face. "L-Luffy, are you alright?!" He asked instantly, but stopped when he realized the other boy wasn't listening to him. He was just sitting there, looking down at his hat. Upon closer inspection, he saw that there was a small cut on the side of it. "Luffy...?"

Luffy just continued to stare down at the cut on his hat. Then, suddenly, his face contorted into one of rage, a kind that Lambo would never expect him to even be capable of, as he turned to Buggy, nothing but absolute anger in his eyes. "YOU BASTARD!"

Buggy just smirked mockingly, undeterred. "Oh, I'm sorry, was I not supposed to scratch your face or something?"

"You... How dare you cut my hat?!"

Buggy arched an eyebrow. "Huh? It's just some stupid hat."

"This hat is my treasure!"

Lambo's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered. _'Ah, that's right...'_ He looked back at the hat. _'He said that he made a promise to the person that gave him that hat that he would become Pirate King... So Shanks must be...'_

"Anyone who damages my hat will pay!" Luffy continued shouting at the clown pirate.

"...Well, it seems that that hat has some history to it," Buggy admitted. "Is it really that important?"

Luffy nodded. "It is!"

The clown smirked. "In that case..."

As the two talked, Lambo suddenly realized something: Buggy only had one of his arms. Eyes widening, he quickly shouted, "Luffy, look out!"

"?!" Luffy's eyes widened and he quickly dodged a dagger that was thrown at him from behind.

"...You should protect it better!" Buggy finished as the severed arm rushed towards the hat in Luffy's grip.

Realizing what was about to happen, Lambo rushed forward and used all his strength to tackle Luffy aside. As a result, the knife-wielding hand completely missed the hat, but left a deep cut in the cow-boy's shoulder. "Argh!"

It took a moment before Luffy fully realized what had just happened. When he did, his gaze immediately went to Lambo, eyes widening when he saw that the other boy was wincing and clutching his shoulder, which was now bleeding. "Lambo!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lambo quickly assured, smiling shakily as his previous adreneline rush finally wore off. "That hat's important to you, right? We've gotta protect it."

"Lambo..."

"I don't get it. How can that tattered hat be considered a treasure?" Buggy asked in annoyance as his arm returned to him. "Treasure is gold and silver and jewels! Not a filthy old hat!"

"Man, that guy's really annoying, isn't he?" Lambo mumbled as he stood back up, one arm still clutching his shoulder.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yare, yare. I told you I'm fine." He smiled. "Have some more faith in your nakama, would you?'

Luffy blinked before erupting in a mile-long grin. "Right!" Nodding, he turned back to Buggy, expression serious once again. "Listen up, you stupid clown! This is the hat that Shanks gave to me! It's more precious than any stupid gold or silver!"

"What?!" Buggy gasped, eyes widening in shock as he looked at the hat once again. "That's _Shanks'_ hat?! No wonder it looks so familiar! He was always wearing the damn thing when we were sailing together!"

"Wait, you and Shanks sailed on the same ship?" Luffy asked in surprise.

Buggy smirked at his shocked expression. "Yeah, back when we were still pirates-in-training. I was once comrades with that bastard."

Luffy's expression hardened. "Shanks was a great man! The only bastard here is you!"

"I really can't find it in me to believe that this clown was actually _comrades_ with that Shanks guy," Lambo admitted.

"Comrades my ass! Don't even compare yourself to him! You stupid big-nose!"

Buggy scoffed. "I can say whatever I like about Shanks! AND STOP INSULTING MY NOSE ALREADY!"

"Seems like you really dislike him. What exactly happened between you two anyway?" Lambo asked curiously.

"You want to know that badly?" Buggy asked, face hardening. "Shanks is the one person I can never forgive... I'll hate him until the very end of my life! I will _never_ forgive him!"


	13. A Promise

"I've never met someone who pissed me off as much as that guy did," Buggy continued to rant as the two boys glanced at each other and then back at him. "I don't know how you're related to him, and I don't care! That bastard denied me a lot of treasure, so I have the right to say anything I want about him!"

"Treasure again, huh?" Lambo mumbled, his hand tightening on his shoulder to stem the bleeding. "And how exactly did Shanks get in the way of you and your precious treasure?"

Apparently completely ignorant to the boy's mocking town, Buggy answered. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you, but just be prepared to hate him as much as I do!"

"Not gonna lie, I really doubt that," Lambo stated flatly. He was ignored.

"It started when our crew decided to pillage another... I managed to acquire a map that showed me a treasure buried at the bottom of the sea! I kept it a secret from my other crewmates, of course, and planned to go find it on my own once I had my own ship to sail on!"

"Yeah, okay, where exactly are you going with this?" Lambo interrupted, slightly annoyed while Luffy just cocked his head to the side.

Buggy shot him a glare. "I'm getting to that! You see, along with the treasure, we managed to find a Devil Fruit as well! I didn't care about it much at first. After all, how was I supposed to find treasure at the bottom of the sea if the Devil Fruit took away my ability to swim? But after I heard that it could be sold for a million beri, I knew I had to have it! If I sold that, I could get my own ship and search for treasure all around the world! So, I made a fake fruit and ate it in front of everyone while I took the real fruit and hid it away!"

"Ate it?" Lambo asked in confusion. "And your captain just let you do that?"

"Would you stop interrupting?! And, yes, our captain said that if any of us had the guts to eat it, we could," Buggy muttered, glaring at the boy.

"Really? Your captain sounds really cool!" Luffy said in awe.

"ANYWAY," Buggy growled, causing them to look back at him. "Just as I was about to leave the ship, Shanks interrupted me and I had to hide the fruit in my mouth. And thanks to that bastard, I accidentally swallowed it and the map fell into the sea! I jumped after it, but thanks to the Devil Fruit, I couldn't swim anymore, so that flashy bastard had to get me back out!"

"Oh, so he saved your life," Luffy said, nodding in understanding.

"Still don't get why you hate him, though," Lambo muttered.

"HAVEN'T YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION?! Because of him, my plans were delayed by ten years!"

_'But if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't even_ have _plans,'_ Lambo thought to himself as he continued to watch the clown with half-lidded eyes. _'Plus, it's your own fault for stealing that fruit in the first place...'_

"And then I realized...if I can't have the treasure beneath the sea, then I'll just take all the treasure the land has to offer! With this ability, I'm invincible!" He boasted as the top half of his body split from the lower half and started rising into the air. "And if anyone dares try to take my treasure, I won't let them escape with their lives! Now..."

Lambo blinked in confusion as Buggy's gaze left them and he looked at something in the distance. Turning around, his eyes widened when he saw a familiar girl trying to sneak away, a large white bag slung over her shoulder.

"HAND OVER MY TREASURE, NAMI!"

Nami's eyes widened as she glanced back and she quickly broke into a run. "Crap! He saw me!"

"Dammit, we'll never make it all the way there in time," Lambo grimaced. "What should we..."

"Hey, look. He left this here," Luffy suddenly said. Lambo turned back in his direction and blinked when he saw him pointing at the severed bottom half of the clown pirate.

"...Maybe we could use this to our advantage," Lambo said as he looked at the severed body parts calculatingly.

Luffy grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I gotcha!"

Lambo nodded. "Good. I'll just electrocute them, and then we can-" He barely had time to finish his sentence before Luffy's leg shot forward and connected with the severed lower half of the clown's body, right where it would cause the most damage.

Back with Nami, she blinked in confusion as Buggy suddenly stopped chasing her, seeming to be frozen in midair before falling down onto the ground, face contorting in utter agony. "M-m-m-m-my b-b-b-b-ba..."

_'Did I just hear a crack?'_ Lambo thought to himself as Luffy retracted his foot and gave him a thumbs up.

"We did it! Great plan, Lambo!"

"...You're ruthless."

"Huh?"

"...Never mind. At least we stopped him." He looked down at the convulsing bottom half of Buggy's body and winced. "Still, though..." He then turned his gaze back to Nami. "And when did she get here, anyway?"

"Hey, you!" Luffy called out to Nami, who stopped staring at the downed Buggy in confusion and looked at him. "Just leave the treasure and run! If you don't, he'll just come after you again!"

"If he can..." Lambo mumbled flatly.

Nami's expression changed into a glare as she tightened her hold on the bag. "No way! Why should I throw away my treasure?!"

"Your treasure...you say?" Buggy said weakly, lifting his head up slightly.

"Holy crap, he actually managed to bounce back from that," Lambo said with wide eyes. "He's made of stronger stuff than I thought..."

"I'm kind of surprised, too," Luffy agreed with a frown.

"...Once again, you're ruthless."

"Of course this treasure is mine!" Nami shouted, glaring down at the blue-haired man. "I'm a thief that steals from pirates! I stole these from you, so that makes them all mine!"

"Oh! I see!" Luffy said in understanding as he slammed his fist into his hand.

"She's really starting to remind me of someone..." Lambo sighed as his thoughts drifted to a certain cloaked illusionist.

"Bullshit! Those are MY treasures! It isn't yours just because you stole it! Just what kind of logic is that, anyway?!"

The orange-haired girl scoffed. "A crook lecturing another crook? Don't make me laugh!"

"What was that?!"

Nami smirked down at him. "I'm not going to lower myself to the likes of you pirates, understand?"

Buggy continued to glare bloody murder at her as he slowly lifted himself up. "You'd better prepare yourself, Nami... Bara Bara..." Lambo and Luffy's eyes widened in surprise when the other half of Buggy's body sprang up. "Festival!"

Everyone gasped in shock when each of his body parts split into more and more before all rising up into the air and floating their way towards Buggy and Nami.

"Hahahahaha! If you want to help your friend, you'd better do it now, rubber man! Cow boy!"

"Whoa, he's split into even more pieces!" Luffy exclaimed before something else caught his attention.

"Damn, what do..." Lambo trailed off when Luffy tossed something over to him. Looking down at it, he blinked in surprise. "...Is this that guy's foot?"

The other boy grinned, holding up the other foot. "Yep! Let's do this, Lambo!"

"Just don't go overboard this time," Lambo mumbled as emerald green electricity crackled around his hand.

"Alright!"

"Return my treasure!" Buggy shouted, oblivious to what was going on behind him as he raced after the fleeing girl.

"No means no!"

"I'll just do...this!" Luffy said to himself as he removed the shoe and started tickling the foot.

"I guess that works," Lambo consented as he let an electric shock run through the other foot.

"And this," Luffy continued, pinching the skin and stretching it out. "And..." He raised the foot over his head... "THIS!" And slammed it down onto the hard ground.

Buggy let out a yell and turned to glare at the two boys. "CUT THAT OUT ALREADY!"

" _You're_ the one who should stop!" Nami exclaimed, turning around and slamming the bag full of hard gold and jewels into the clown's face.

"Ooooh! Way to go, Nami!" Luffy shouted as Lambo stared at the scene in surprise.

Buggy froze in midair for a moment before smirking in victory and grabbing onto the bag, making Nami's eyes widen in shock. "I have my treasure back!"

Nami's expression turned to an angered one and she shook the bag, trying to dislodge the man's severed hands. "Let go of my treasure!"

"What?! You're the one who should let go!"

"I SAID LET GO!"

Buggy glared at her before grinning. "Fine, if you say so!"

"What?"

The two hands let go of the bag and lifted into the air, now carrying daggers pointed straight towards her face. Buggy's grin widened at the terrified look in her eyes. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted me to let go! Now, DIE!"

"Elettrico Cornata!"

Buggy's eyes widened as something slammed into him and sent him slamming into the wall of a building, spasming from the electricity now circulating around him, the bag of treasure bursting open and raining from the sky.

"That was still as awesome as ever, Lambo!" Luffy exclaimed happily, but frowned when the other boy fell into a sitting position, breathing a bit hard as his flames slowly went out. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah... I just... I'm not used to using so much of my flames in such a short amount of time," he answered before wincing and grabbing his shoulder. "Great, it started bleeding again..."

"Hey, uh..." Both turned and looked at Nami, who slowly stood up. "Um, thanks for that."

"Don't worry about it," Lambo assured as he took off his horns and put them away. "I'm just glad that this is finally over with."

"You did really good, Lambo! Even if it was your first fight!"

Lambo blinked in surprise before allowing himself a small smile. "Right... Thanks, Luffy."

Luffy nodded before seeming to remember something. "Oh, yeah! The map!"

"Oh, I have it-" Nami started before letting out a shout of shock.

"It's not over yet, Cow-Boy!"

Lambo grimaced. "Great, he got up."

"Um, I'm just gonna leave the rest to you," Nami said quickly as she scurried away.

"I won't forget this! None of you will leave here alive! BARA BARA PARTS! REASSEMBLE!"

Lambo and Luffy both got themselves ready, only to blink in surprise at what happened next. His body parts _did_ come back, but only his hands and feet. His arms, legs, and torso were nowhere to be seen, making him look like a miniature version of himself. Buggy himself seemed to realize this as he blinked in confusion. "...Eh?"

"Looking for these?"

The three turned towards Nami's voice only to see the girl standing over the rest of Buggy's body parts, all tied up firmly by a rope as the girl smiled triumphantly.

"M-My parts!"

"Hahaha! Great job!" Luffy laughed while Lambo just stared at the tied up body parts in surprise.

_'...I think I'm going to have to rethink my view on women,'_ he thought, sweatdropping.

"It's no wonder you're a thief!" Luffy continued, throwing his arms back and making them stretch into the distance. "Hey, Buggy! Gomu Gomu no...!"

Buggy's eyes widened in horror. "I-I'm dead..."

"BAZOOKA!"

Lambo and Nami could only watch in awe as Luffy's hands slammed into Buggy and sent him flying and disappearing into the sky like a star.

"Dang..." Lambo mumbled as he stood back up. _'Luffy is...really strong, isn't he?'_

Luffy turned in his direction and gave a blinding grin. "We won, Lambo! Good job!"

"What? Oh... I didn't do much..."

"What do ya mean? You saved our navigator, didn't you?"

"Hey," said navigator spoke up, causing them both to look at her. "Are you two...okay?"

"Hm? I'm fine. What about you?"

Lambo glanced at his shoulder. "Well, the bleeding's stopped again. And as long as I don't use anymore flames today, I should be just fine. By the way, Luffy..." The cow-clad boy looked up at his captain's hat and frowned. "You should find a way to get that cut on your hat fixed, otherwise it'll just get bigger..."

Luffy removed said hat from his head and examined it with a frown. Watching this, Nami glanced away and mumbled, "I can patch it up for you if you want."

The boy blinked and looked at her. "What was that?"

"Nothing at all!" The girl huffed before lifting up one of the two bags she was holding. "Anyway, since the bag got all torn up, I had to split it into two. Can you carry one? It's really heavy."

"When did you even have time to do that?" Lambo asked in confusion. "Come to think of it, how did you tie Buggy up so fast, too?"

The girl shrugged. "I'm a thief, so I'm used to having to do things like that. So, anyway..." Putting the bags on the ground, she pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and held it out to him. "Here."

"What's that?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"The map of the Grand Line. You wanted it, right?"

"Really?! You're just giving it to us?!"

"Well, you guys did save my life..."

"Awesome! Thanks, Nami!"

"Yare, yare... Looks like we finally got it..." Lambo sighed.

"Oh, hey, does this mean you're coming with us?" Luffy exclaimed hopefully.

"I told you that I won't become a pirate, but..." The girl smirked. "If I stay with you guys, I'll probably be able to steal tons of money. I'm only working with you, though, don't forget that."

"I got it!"

"Zoro, you still alive?" Lambo asked as he bent over the unconscious swordsman and shook him.

"Ugh... Is the fight over already?" The green-haired man grimaced, lifting himself up.

"Hey, Zoro! We have the map _and_ a navigator now!" Luffy shouted cheerfully.

"You mean that girl?" Zoro asked, turning to look at Nami. Their eye contact lasted about a second before he sighed. "Man, I'm about to pass out... I can't really move either..."

"If you could move, then you guys wouldn't be human," Nami said with a frown.

"I'm starting to think they might not be," Lambo said flatly.

"Was I included in that?" Luffy asked.

"You're the strangest one of them all!" Nami shouted before giving up and sighing. "Anyway, we should go take a look at the mayor."

"Oh, right. Let's go wake that old man up."

"Hey, you four!"

The three pirates and navigator turned towards the source of this new voice to see a group of townspeople making their way towards them. "You're not from here, are you?"

"Yeah, and you?" Luffy asked.

"We're the residents of this town. What happened to the pirates? If you know anything, please tell us."

"Oh, you're the townspeople," Nami said in relief. "For a second there, I thought they were more enemies..."

It was then that the residents noticed the unconscious man, their eyes widening as they rushed over to him.

"Mayor? What happened?!"

"Hey, get ahold of yourself!"

"He's passed out!"

"Those pirates must have done this!"

"Oh, sorry," Luffy said apologetically. "I had to knock him out."

Each one of them turned towards him with murderous glares. _"What?"_

"For God's sake, Luffy," Lambo groaned.

"Why did you tell them that, you idiot?!" Nami whispered urgently at him, looking about ready to punch him.

Luffy frowned in confusion. "Well, because I did."

"But you didn't have to tell them!"

"You did this to our mayor?" One of the townspeople asked, cutting off Luffy and Nami. "Who are you? Are you with those pirates?"

_'Looks like we're going to have to lie our way out of here...'_ Lambo thought with a frown.

"We're pirates."

_'...Or not.'_ "Goddammit, Luffy..." He groaned while Zoro laughed beside him and Nami just gaped in disbelief.

"YOU IDIOT!"

"But we are!"

"How dare you pirates cause so much destruction to our town! We won't forgive you, even if you are just kids!"

"What now?" Zoro asked with a smirk. "They won't listen to us anymore."

Lambo sent him a mild glare. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

The swordsman's smirk just widened. "Maybe."

"Alright, everyone," Luffy said as he slung one of Zoro's arms around his shoulders and lifted him up. "RUN!"

Nami yelped and grabbed one of her bags and tossed the other towards Lambo with a cry of "You carry that one!"

"Wha- hey!" Lambo said, grimacing under the weight as he hurried after them.

"Why did you have to tell them that, you idiot?!" He heard Nami shout at Luffy as he caught up to them.

"This is a good town," was the other boy's response.

"What do you mean?" Lambo asked, now running beside him. "They're kind of trying to kill us, Luffy."

Luffy gave a wide grin. "They're going to try to fight us just because of that old man! No matter what excuse I give them, they're not gonna stop!" He laughed as he turned the corner, causing the other two to stumble before turning as well.

"Geez! Warn us next time!" Nami shouted at him.

"Crap, something's blocking the way!" Lambo pointed out.

"Jump over it!"

As they leaped over the white object blocking the path, their eyes widened when they realized what it was.

"Is that...?" Lambo started.

"It's Chouchou!" Nami said in surprise as they landed on the other side and continued running, glancing behind them as the residents came to a stop before the dog, who began to snarl and bark at them.

"Chouchou? Get out of the way!"

"Those guys are evil pirates! Let us through!"

"Chouchou, let us through!"

Luffy stared back at the dog for a long moment before giving a blinding smile.

"THANKS, DOGGY!"

XXX

"We finally escaped, thanks to Chouchou..." Nami said in relief, breathing hard as Lambo put his bag of treasure on the ground next to hers. "Seriously, why do I have to be in these kind of situations..."

"It wasn't that bad. We got what we came for," Luffy said as he looked over at the two boats floating in the dock.

"Yeah, mission accomplished," Lambo mumbled, earning a grin and nod from Luffy. Looking at the second ship, he arched an eyebrow. "Is this your ship? It has Buggy's flag on it..."

Nami glanced at the ship before waving her hand dismissively. "Oh, that? I stole it from some stupid pirates."

"Of course..."

"How dare you say that?!"

Lambo blinked and Nami jumped in surprise as three men sprang up from the ship, apparently having been hiding there. Upon closer inspection, the cow-clad boy immediately recognized them.

"We've been waiting for you, thief!"

"Ah, it's those three again," Lambo said with a frown while Luffy looked at him in confusion.

"You know them?"

"Yeah, we met them while you were still being kidnapped by that bird," Lambo muttered, turning to look at Nami. Seeing her expression, he stated "I take it these are the pirates you stole this from?"

"Uh, maybe..."

"So, you have friends," one of them said as he walked over to the three boys. Seeing the unconscious Zoro slung onto Luffy's shoulders, he reached out and slapped him on the head a few times. "Hey, you, don't pretend to be asleep! Hey!"

Zoro slowly lifted his head up and looked at him, with an expression Lambo could only described as demonic.

_"Huh?"_

Lambo blinked, slightly stunned. One moment they were there, the next they were gone. It was like they disappeared in an instant, the sound of terrified shrieking echoing behind them. _'I didn't think humans could run that fast...'_ He looked over at Zoro, who just stared after them with an arched eyebrow while Luffy laughed. _'I kinda wish I knew what he did to them... Stupid Ten-Year-Bazooka...'_

XXX

"Alright, we're set to go," Nami said as she climbed onto her stolen ship while Luffy and Lambo carried the now-conscious Zoro into their own. They then unwrapped the ropes that were keeping their boats docked and allowed them to begin to drift away from the island, picking up speed as they went.

As they did, Luffy suddenly shot up and exclaimed, "Oh, I almost forgot!"

The three just watched in confusion and mild amusement as the young captain started digging into his pockets, apparently looking for something.

"Where is it...?"

"Lost something?" Zoro asked.

"Hmmm... Oh, here it is!" Luffy exclaimed as he pulled something out and held it out to Lambo, who just blinked and stared at it, not comprehending.

"...Is that a necklace?" He asked, taking a closer look at it. "It looks like something a little kid would wear... Uh, are you giving it to me?"

Luffy smiled and thrust it into his hand. "Yeah!"

Lambo blinked as he took the plastic necklace and looked at it with ever-growing confusion. "Okay... Why?"

"You said you didn't have any treasures before, remember?" Luffy answered brightly. "Well, this necklace is a promise between you and me."

Lambo stopped frowning down at the object and looked up at him, eyes widening slightly. "A promise?"

"Yeah, that you'll become the strongest Mafia-guy in the entire world!" Luffy's arms spread wide in a gesture to show how big the world was.

"O-Oh..." Lambo mumbled before looking down at the necklace as if it were something entirely different. "But I'm...not really sure I can do that..."

"Sure you can!" Luffy said in his usual all-knowing manner. "You did great with that Buggy guy!"

"He's right," Zoro spoke up, capturing his attention. "Even though I wasn't there to see it, I saw all the damage your lightning did to the surroundings. You're good, but you're not going to get anywhere in life if you don't have faith in your own abilities."

"...If...you say so," Lambo mumbled, looking down at the necklace once more before slowly putting it around his neck.

"It suits you," Luffy said happily.

Zoro smirked at him as well. "Geez, you look like you've never gotten a gift before."

Lambo huffed and sent him a mild glare. "Of course I have. Just...never anything really meaningful."

"Hey..." Nami spoke up, causing him to remember she was there. Looking at her, he saw that she was staring at him with a mistrusting frown. "Did he just say you were in the Mafia?"

"Oh, well I..."

"HEY! YOU BRATS!"

Lambo blinked as they all turned back towards the docks, which were getting smaller and smaller by the second. "...Isn't that the mayor?"

The old man was standing at the front of the docks, kneeled over slightly and gasping, most likely from the run. He then lifted his head to reveal his tear-streaked, smiling face. "THANK YOU! I'LL REPAY YOU SOMEDAY!"

Luffy grinned and raised his hand in the air, waving it vigorously. "Don't worry about it! Take it easy!"

Lambo sighed and sat down, a small smile on his face. "I feel like we did good today."

"Hey, don't change the subject," Nami said, turning back to him. "What did he mean by..." She trailed off, eyes widening in horror. "What the- MY TREASURE! You, what the hell happened to the other bag?!"

"Oh, I left it behind," Luffy answered flatly, unconcerned by her anger.

"What?! Just that one bag was probably worth five million beri!"

"Yeah, they're gonna need that to rebuild their town."

"But that was MY treasure! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to steal that?!" She shouted before reaching out towards Luffy, grabbing him by the neck, and attempting to shove him into the water. "I won't forgive you for this!"

"S-Stop! I can't swim!"

"That's the point!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Shut up and die!"

Lambo watched the scene in amusement while Zoro just burst out into laughter at it all. "She really reminds me of that guy..."

"Hm?" The swordsman glanced at him, still smiling. "If you know someone like that, then I feel really sorry for you."

"Luckily for me, we weren't that close..."

"Well, for better or for worse, we have our navigator."

"Yep... Somehow..." He sweatdropped as he watched Nami continue to try to drown their captain. _'So...does she like us or not? I really don't understand women...'_


	14. Tall Tales

"So, let me get this straight," Nami said in irritation, glaring as the child-version of Lambo was laughing and using Luffy's outstretched arm as a trampoline. "Time travel."

"Yep," Zoro said flatly, lying on his back with his eyes closed.

The orange-haired girl cast him a glare, which went completely ignored. "Do you think I'm stupid or something?! You really expect me to believe that?!"

"Don't really care. The proof's right in front of you."

"I think it's cool!" Luffy shouted back at them happily.

"Haha! You're so stretchy!" Lambo said in delight, now gripping Luffy's finger and stretching it as far as he could. "Stretchy~! Stretchy~!"

"That's 'cause I'm made of rubber!" Luffy boasted, puffing his chest out proudly.

The child looked up at him with sparkling, awe-struck eyes. "Really?! Cooooooooool!"

Zoro smirked at the scene. "It's like there's two of them."

"Great, they're multiplying..." Nami said back sarcastically before heaving a sigh. "Seriously, first the Mafia thing and now this... How did I get stuck with these freaks...?"

"Well, I'm sure it's your own fault."

"...And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Zoro yawned again before frowning in thought. "I wonder what happens to our Lambo when he switches out..."

XXX

_**Ten Years Ago...** _

Lambo tilted his head and crossed his arms, watching the spectacle before him.

Tsuna was running around in nothing but his boxers, shouting at the top of his lungs with an orange flame lit on his forehead. In the distance, Reborn was watching with a victorious smirk and Gokudera was cheering his boss on whilst Yamamoto just laughed it all off as usual.

"Tsuna's Dying Will Mode sure was different back then, huh?" He mumbled, watching the Dying Will Tsuna accidentally slam into a tree, then proceed to rip it out of the ground and casually toss it to the side before continuing to run as if nothing had happened. "That's...interesting."

XXX

_**Ten Years Later...** _

"...Well, I'm sure he's fine," the swordsman said with a shrug.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you guys?" Nami sighed in defeat before turning her gaze towards the ocean. She blinked and moved forward for a better look, squinting her eyes against the sun. "Hey, is that land over there?"

"Huh?!" Luffy exclaimed as he and the child rushed over towards the edge of the ship, bouncing excitedly. "Land?! Where?!"

"Where? Where?" Lambo shouted happily, obviously not really understanding what was going on and just copying the older boy.

"Careful! You'll fall off, you idiots!"

XXX

"So, we've finally made it to land," the newly-returned fifteen-year-old Lambo observed as he stepped off the boat they had been traveling in for the last few days.

"It's been a while," Zoro agreed, stretching. "So, anything interesting happen back in the past?"

"Hm?" Lambo paused and thought for a moment before giving a nonchalant shrug. "A bit, I guess. But nothing really special happened."

Nami gave him a side glare. "Are you serious? Time travel is nothing special to you?"

The black-haired boy just gave another shrug. "Well, I'm pretty used to it. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid, so I never thought too much about it."

She looked at him in disbelief before sighing and resting her hand on her forehead. "Unbelievable... What kind of idiots would give something like that to a _kid_ anyway?"

"That's the Mafia for you," was his response. The girl just glared at him before sighing once again.

"Hey, Nami, where are we anyway?" Luffy spoke up, causing their disussion to cease.

Nami pulled out her map and examined it. "According to this, we're on Gecko Island." She looked up and pointed towards a path leading further into the woods. "If we go in that direction, we should end up in Syrup Village."

"Pretty weird name," the cow-boy remarked. "Well, I guess we should go check it out. We need to refill our food supply."

Luffy's eyes instantly lit up. "Food?! Oooooh! That means we'll get _meat_ , right?! Let's go! Let's go!"

"Our captain sure is high maintenance," Zoro mumbled.

"You can say that again," Lambo agreed.

"Hey, speaking of supplies," Nami spoke up, gaining their attention. "Before we can even think about going to the Grand Line, we need to get the essentials!"

"Essentials?" Luffy asked in confusion.

The girl gave a frustrated sigh at this. "Of course! Do you really expect to make it through the Grand Line with a crew of four people?"

Luffy nodded. "Well, yeah."

"Don't be stupid!" Nami snapped at him before turning to the other two, seeing as Luffy just wasn't going to get it. "We're in no condition to go to the Grand Line. We don't even have a real ship yet!" She pointed at their two tiny boats. "Those things won't last one second in a place like that! Not to mention we don't have a doctor, or a cook, or anything!"

"She's right!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, surprising his crewmates, who looked at him somewhat hopefully. "Before we go to the Grand Line, we need a musician!"

Nami and Lambo just stared at him while Zoro burst out into laughter. "Hahahahaha! A musician? You're really something, Luffy!"

"High maintenance indeed..."

"What the hell do we need a musician for?!" Nami shouted incredulously.

"Because pirates are supposed to sing! Right, Lambo?"

"How would I know?" He sighed as Nami started a one-sided argument with the other boy. It was then that he noticed that Zoro was no longer looking at any of them. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the foliage on top of the nearby cliff, hand firmly wrapped around the hilt of one of his swords. "Zoro? What's wrong?"

"Somebody's up there."

"What? Where?" The black-haired boy quickly looked up, narrowing his eyes. "I can't see anyone..."

Luffy looked up as well. "Where? Where?"

Zoro's eyes suddenly widened. "Watch out!"

"Huh? Whoa!" Lambo and Luffy both yelped and dived out of the way as several small somethings shot out of the bushes and landed where they had been standing. "What the hell?!"

Hearing a rustling sound, the four looked up just as numerous black flags with skulls and crossbones shot up from the bushes all around the cliff face.

Luffy gaped. "Whoa! That's _awesome_!"

"Luffy, you've gotta stop being impressed by the people trying to kill us!" Lambo shouted at him as he stood back up and looked around cautiously.

"Look! Up there!" Nami, who had hidden back with the boats, shouted, pointing upwards.

Looking in the direction she pointed, they were just in time to see someone step out of the bushes and stand near the edge of the cliff. "Who's that?" Lambo mumbled. "...And what's wrong with his nose?"

Above them was a dark-skinned young man who looked to be around the same age as Luffy. He was rather slim and had very curly black hair, along with an unusually long nose. On his head, over his curly hair, he wore an olive-green, striped bandanna, and over that a pair of goggles. He wore a pair of brown overalls with a white sash tied around his waist, and a blue and white striped armband on one of his arms. There was also a bag slung around him by a strap.

The boy smirked down at them. "Behold! I am the leader of the pirate crew who has taken over this island! You may address me as Captain Usopp! If you're thinking of invading this village, then think again! My crew of eighty-million men will crush you!"

"INCREDIBLLLLLEEEEE!" Luffy shouted, gaping while the others just stared at the scene with half-lidded expressions.

"Come on, Luffy. He's obviously lying," Lambo said, looking at the other boy incredulously. "That many people can't even fit on this island."

"It's obviously a lie," Nami said flatly. "Like really, really obvious..."

"No way! They saw through it!" The boy, Usopp, shouted in panic.

"Even he's admitting it now," Zoro muttered.

"Wait, he was really lying?!" Luffy exclaimed, looking shocked and betrayed.

Lambo sighed for what felt like the millionth time. "Yes, Luffy. Yes he was."

"...Alright, eighty-million may have been a bit of an exaggeration," Usopp admitted. "But I still have many powerful allies!"

At that, a few of the flags at his far right started to move up and down. Nami smirked and arched an eyebrow. "You mean those three?"

At that, the flags froze for a moment before three young children burst out of the bushes and started to run back into the forest. "She figured it out! Run!"

"H-Hey! Don't run away!" Usopp shouted after them in panic.

"...They were just kids?" The cow-clad boy asked, watching them run with an arched eyebrow.

"Hey, look," Nami suddenly said. The three boys turned around to face her and saw that she was holding up a small, metal ball. Probably what Usopp had flung at them before. "I've never heard of a pirate using pachinko before."

Lambo frowned. "Pachinko? He threw _pinballs_ at us?"

"This guy sure is interesting, huh?" Luffy grinned.

Lambo glanced at him. "No, I'd say that honor goes to you."

The other boy blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

"Well, it doesn't look like he's much of a threat," Zoro said, sheathing this sword.

"H-Hey, you! Don't make fun of me!" Usopp shouted down at them, rummaging through his bag. "I'm a man of pride!"

"A slingshot?" Lambo observed as the long-nosed boy took the item out of his bag. "I take it back, he _is_ pretty weird..."

"And it's because of that great pride that I've earned the title 'Usopp the Proud!' I'll have you know that my skills with a slingshot are better than any pistol!"

"A pistol, huh?" Luffy suddenly spoke up, his hat casting a shadow over his face. As he did, the atmosphere around the five of them suddenly grew tense. "Are you ready to bet your life on it, then?"

"M-My life?" Usopp stuttered fearfully, hands holding the slingshot starting to tremble.

"They aren't meant for just scaring people, you know," the straw-hat wearing pirate continued.

While Nami and Lambo watched the scene in confusion, Zoro seemed to catch on. He glanced at the both of them before turning back towards Usopp.

"This guy here," he spoke, motioning towards Luffy. "He's a _real_ pirate."

After he spoke those words, everything went silent. Everyone watched as Luffy and Usopp continued their standoff, while all around them the flags fell down to the ground.

...

...

...

...

...

After what seemed like an eternity, the slingshot and pachinko both clattered to the ground. Usopp followed soon afterwards, falling on his butt and exhaling the breath he had been holding.

"Real pirates are scarier than I thought," he mumbled, loud enough for them to hear.

Luffy and Zoro glanced at each other before suddenly bursting out in laughter, prompting the long-nosed boy to look at them in confusion.

"Sorry, I was just copying what I heard someone say a long time ago," Luffy admitted, smiling. "From a pirate I know."

"Ah, so that's it," Nami said as she and Lambo glanced at each other in understanding. "Nearly had me fooled."

"Me too..." The cow-boy admitted before looking back at the young captain. "Hey, who did you hear that from anyway? It was a pretty cool line."

"It was, wasn't it? I heard it from Shanks!"

"Shanks again, huh? You must really look up to that guy."

"W-Wait, did you just say Shanks?!" Usopp interrupted, gaping. "As in Red-Haired Shanks?! The famous pirate?!"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah! By the way, does your dad happen to be Yasopp?"

Usopp blinked. "Eh?" There was a pause before his eyes went as wide as saucers. "WHAT?!"

Lambo winced as the boy slipped and tumbled down the cliff, landing on his back. "...You know him, Luffy?'

Luffy shook his head negatively. "No. But I know his dad."

"Do you really know my dad?!" Usopp exclaimed as he picked himself up. It was then that he remembered that he was speaking to a group of possibly dangerous pirates and he stepped back, continuing in a more hesitant tone. "Um... So... How do you know him?" Before anyone could reply, there was a familiar, monsterous rumbling sound, which caused the long-nosed boy to look around wildly. "Wh-What was that?!"

Luffy put a hand on his stomach unhappily. "I'm hungry..."

"THAT WAS YOUR STOMACH?!"

"...Any place we can eat and talk?" Lambo asked, trying to keep himself from giving yet another sigh.

XXX

Twenty minutes later and the four pirates were eating at a local restaurant along with Usopp. The ice had been succesfully broken between them and now they were conversing as if their previous confrontation never happened.

"Pretty good, right?" Usopp asked as Luffy stuffed his face with as much food as he could fit into it.

"It's awesome!"

_'I'm starting to think he's secretly just an abyss on the inside...'_ Lambo thought with half-lidded eyes as he watched his captain practically inhale everything edible. He then decided that it was time to get back to the matter at hand. "So, Luffy, how do you know this guy's father?"

"I met him when I was a kid," Luffy started. How he could talk with a mouth full of food would forever be a mystery to Lambo. "He's in Shanks' crew."

"I can't believe my dad was on Shanks' crew this whole time!" Usopp said happily. "But how did you know I was his son?"

"Well, you look a lot like him. And he talked about you a lot, so I remember your name, too."

"You said Shanks was famous, right?" Zoro asked. "If this Yasopp guy is in his crew, he must be pretty strong, right?"

"Yeah, what was he like?" Lambo asked interestedly.

"Oh, well he was really great with a pistol. He was Shanks' sharpshooter!"

"Really?!" Usopp exclaimed eagerly.

"Yeah! He's probably still in Shanks' crew. Yasopp's a great pirate!"

"He is, isn't he?! I always knew he was a really great pirate! Disregarding his own life to go sailing around the world... I'm so proud of him!"

"Hey, this makes it easier for us, doesn't it?" Nami spoke up suddenly. "Is there any place around here where we can get a ship?"

"Well... This is a pretty small village, as you can see..." He gave a smile and shrug. "Sorry, but there's no way you can find a ship anywhere around here."

"What about over there?" Zoro asked, motioning out the window.

Lambo followed his gaze to see a rather large building a little ways away from the village, just visible on a hill. "That's a pretty big mansion for such a small village." He looked at Usopp questioningly. "And you said that there was no one around here who could help?"

"Hey, do you know the people who live there?" Nami asked the long-nosed boy excitedly. "Maybe we could ask them for some money for a ship!"

"N-No!" Usopp suddenly shouted, bursting out of his chair and slamming both hands on the table, startling them all. "You can't go there!"

The pirates all stared at him. "...Huh?"

Usopp froze for a few seconds before turning to the side and trying to act natural. "U-Uh, I mean... I-I suddenly remembered! Th-There's somewhere I have to go right now! The owner's a friend of mine, so just go ahead and order anything you want. W-Well, I'll be on my way!"

"Well, that as weird..." Nami said as they watched the boy rush out of the restaurant, not looking back.

"Yare, yare..." Lambo turned back to Luffy. "What'll we do, Captain?"

Luffy seemed to think for a moment before standing up and grinning. "I think we should go to that mansion!" He then plopped back down onto his chair and grabbed some more meat. "After we finish eating!"

"Agreed," Zoro said, grabbing an apple.

Lambo stared at them for a second before sighing and reaching for some grapes. "Fine, fine."

Nami just looked at them. "...Seriously?"

XXX

About six minutes later, the four pirates were almost finished eating and ready to go towards the aforementioned mansion. It was then, however, that the front door suddenly burst open and there was a shout of "The Usopp Pirates are here!"

"What's going on?" Nami asked as they all turned to look at the commotion.

"It's a bunch of kids," Lambo said, frowning. "I think they're the same ones from the cliff."

There were in fact three little boys there, all with wooden swords raised in the air. The thing that stood out most about them were their hairstyles. One's hair resembled a green pepper, the second's resembled an onion, and the third's a carrot. All in all, pretty weird, but Lambo had seen stranger things up to this point and was able to bounce back from the sight pretty quickly.

"Huh?" One of them said as they looked around in confusion. "The captain's not here..."

"Hey, you!" The pepper-haired one shouted as they made their way over to the four pirates. "Where's our captain?! What did you do to him?!"

"That was some good meat!" Luffy exclaimed happily, apparently ignoring the three kids.

They instantly looked at him fearfully. "M-Meat? Don't tell me our captain was..."

At this, Zoro smirked and Nami started to snicker. Lambo just cast them a half-lidded look as he mentally weighed the pros and cons of going along with it.

"Wh-What did you do?!"

"Your captain..." Zoro said, his smirk turning more malicious by the second. _"We ate him."_

The three children stared at him in absolute horror before pointing at Nami and shouting, "AAAAAH! WITCH!"

The girl blinked before glaring at them. "Hey! Why are you pointing at me?!"

"Yare, yare," Lambo said, bringing their attention to him. "If it makes you feel any better, he didn't taste that good. I guess we cooked him for too long..."

"C-Cooked him..." And with that, all three children fell backwards onto the floor, not moving.

Zoro arched an eyebrow and nudged one of them with his foot. "Looks like they passed out."

Lambo sweatdropped. "Maybe we went to far?"

Nami glared at him. "It's because you guys were so stupid!"

"Weren't you laughing, though?"

"Sh-Shut up!"

Luffy looked at them and blinked. "Wait, what happened?"

XXX

"That was a really nasty joke, you know," the carrot-haired boy, Ninjin, said as the children led the four pirates towards the mansion.

"Sorry, sorry," Lambo said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Didn't mean to make you pass out..."

Finally reaching the mansion, Luffy gaped at it. "Whoa! This place is HUGE!"

Lambo examined the building as well. It was pretty big, sure, but nowhere near as big as the Vongola Mansion, so it didn't leave much of an impression on him.

"Fancy," Nami commented. "Are you sure Usopp's here?"

"Yeah. Captain Usopp comes here all the time."

"Why would he come to a place like this?" Zoro asked, frowning at the mansion.

"He comes here to lie," Ninjin answered.

"To lie?" Nami asked, frowning disapprovingly. "That isn't something he should be doing!"

The pepper-haired boy, whose name was Piiman, shook his head vigorously. "There's nothing wrong with it! It's different, right?" He looked at his friends, who both nodded.

"Aren't you being a bit hypocritical, Miss Pirate Thief?" Lambo asked, smirking slightly.

"I don't wanna hear that from you, Mafia-Boy!"

"Hey, I haven't-"

"So, what did you mean by that?" Zoro asked, cutting off the brewing argument.

"He comes here to visit Miss Kaya," Piiman said. "She's been really weak and depressed ever since her parents died a year ago."

"So the captain comes here and tells her stories to make her laugh," the onion-haired boy, Tamanegi, added with a smile. "He's the best liar in the whole village!"

"Oh, so he's a good guy," Luffy said, nodding.

"He is! I like the way he always sticks his nose in everyone's business!" Ninjin said, smiling.

"I like the way he overreacts to everything!" Piiman added.

"I like the way he lies!" Tamanegi finished.

_'None of those are even good qualities...'_ Lambo thought to himself, but decided against voicing his opinion.

"And has he cheered this lady up?" Nami asked curiously.

"Yeah!"

"Great!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly. "Then let's go ask her for a ship!"

Lambo looked at him in disbelief. "Luffy, do you really think she's just going to give a ship to a bunch of strangers? Pirates for that matter?"

"We won't know until we try!"

"How the heck are you so optimistic...?"

"That's impossible," one of the children said. "The guards will never let you in!"

"Really? That will be a problem..." Nami admitted, frowning.

"Why? We can beat them easily," Zoro said, shrugging.

"You can't just go around beating up everyone, you idiot!"

Lambo watched them argue for a few seconds before turning back to talk to Luffy, only to blink when he realized that he was no longer there. Looking around, he quickly spotted him hanging onto the metal gate surrounding the building, apparently having climbed up it while they weren't looking.

_'Whoa, Shells Town flashbacks,'_ he thought, while out loud he said, "Luffy, what are you doing?"

Luffy grinned back at him. "We can get in from here!" Keeping his hands firmly grasping the gate, he jumped back down onto the ground, allowing his arms to stretch with him.

"Wha-What's wrong with him?! He stretched his arms all the way up there!" Piiman shouted in shock as the three boys stared in horror.

"Gomu Gomu no..." Luffy started as his three crewmates panicked and hurried to grab him. The kids, despite their fear, hurried to grab on too.

"SORRY TO INTRUUUUUUUUDE!"

And with that, the seven of them were sent flying over the gate.

XXX

"Successful entry!" Luffy said, his voice muffled due to the fact that he had landed face first into the concrete.

Nami, who had landed on the grass with little to no injuries, glared at him and shouted, "NO IT WASN'T!"

Lambo, who had landed in the bushes along with the three kids, pushed himself up and groaned. "Ow... We need better break in plans... You guys okay?"

"Ugh... Yeah, we're fine..." Zoro said, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head.

Lambo blinked and stared at the ruined pavement that the other two boys landed on. "...How the hell do you not have a concussion, Zoro?"

"E-Excuse me!" A feminine voice suddenly called out. They all turned to the source to see a pale, blonde girl wearing a white dress standing behind one of the windows in front of the tree where Usopp was sitting. Both were looking at them in alarm. "Are you alright?"

"D-Don't worry!" Usopp said quickly, cutting off anything they could say. "Th-These guys probably just heard about how great I was and came to join my crew!"

"No, we came to ask you a favor," Luffy said, pointing at the blonde woman, who Lambo assumed had to be Kaya.

"Me?" The girl asked, confused.

"Yeah! See, we need a ship and-"

"You there!" A new, male voice shouted at them. "What are you doing here?"

"Klahadore!" Kaya exclaimed as they all turned to see who it was.

The only way Lambo could think of to describe his appearance was butler-like, and he most likely _was_ one of Kaya's butlers. Black hair sleeked back, a black suit, and glasses. He was pretty much the physical representation of what Lambo had always imagined a butler to look like when he was a child.

"You're trespassing," the man said sternly, looking at them all as he used the palm of his hand to push his glasses up.

"Who's that guy?" Luffy asked, tilting his head.

"The butler, probably," Lambo answered as the man continued to stare at them with calm, ice cold eyes.

Lambo quickly decided that he didn't like this man.


	15. A Butler's Secret

"Oh, Klahadore," the blonde girl called down from her window, a nervous smile making its way onto her face. "It's okay. These people were just-"

"There's no need, Lady Kaya," the man interrupted, causing the smile to quickly disappear from her face. He did not even look at her as he adjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand, eyes continuing their cold glare. "I'll listen to any explanation later. For now, you all need to leave here at once."

"Oh, hey!" Luffy exclaimed, his signature grin appearing on his face. "Do you guys have a ship we could-"

"Absolutely not!" The man shouted at them, causing the three children to immediately flinch and scurry behind the older pirates. Luffy just slumped in disappointment, Zoro giving him a consoling pat on the back. Lambo seriously doubted his strawhat-wearing captain would give up so easily, however.

Klahadore's gaze suddenly shot towards the tree, an expression of distaste distorting his face from its calmness. "Usopp!" He shouted. A yelp and some shuffling were heard as Usopp, who had somehow managed to hide behind the branch he had been sitting on, struggled back onto the tree branch. He gave a nervous smile. "Uh...hey."

Klahadore's cold gaze never wavered. "Ah, Usopp. I've heard many things about you. You're quite famous in this village, aren't you?"

Usopp's smile widened at that. "Oh, really?"

"They say you've been on many interesting adventures. That's something for someone your age," the butler continued, his glaring expression contradicting his words.

Lambo, along with the rest of the crew, stood back and watched the exchange with frowns. _'Is this guy being sarcastic or not? He's so stone cold that I can't even tell...'_

Standing tall on the branch, the boy placed his hands on his sides, puffing up his chest proudly. "You can call me Captain Usopp! That'll help spread my name around!"

There was a flash in Klahadore's eyes. It happened so quickly that Lambo wasn't even sure if he imagined it or not.

"Captain, eh...?" The sound of soft laughter rang in the air as he once again adjusted his glasses in his strange way. "I've heard stories about your father as well. He also had quite the reputation." This time, he said it in a clearly mocking tone.

Usopp's smile faded and was replaced with an expression of anger. "Wh-What?"

"Klahadore!" Kaya's voice came down sternly as she cast a worried look at Usopp. "Stop this!"

Klahadore continued, however; glaring daggers at Usopp. "You are just the son of some filthy pirate! I demand that you stop pestering Lady Kaya this instant! I will not allow you to drag her down with you!"

"What did you say about my father?" Usopp growled, returning the glare full force, teeth gritted in anger.

"Hey, should we do something? This is getting pretty intense," Lambo muttered towards Luffy. Receiving no answer, he turned to see the other boy watching the scene wordlessly.

"You come from a completely different world than Lady Kaya," Klahadore continued harshly. "Why is it that you keep coming here? Do you want money? How much?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH, KLAHADORE!" Kaya shouted down at him in anger, leaning far out the window towards him, her face set in an almost panicked exrpession of anger. Klahadore's words had apparently struck a chord in her. "Apologize to Usopp at once!"

Usopp turned to the pale girl in concern. "H-Hey, Kaya, that's dangerous-"

"Why should I apologize to that savage?" Klahadore continued. "I am only speaking the truth. I do sympathize with you, however. For having an idiotic father who abandoned his wife and child for some mindless lust for treasure."

"Klahadore!" The blonde-haired girl shouted again.

"You bastard..." Usopp snarled, trembling. "You'd better stop insulting my father!" With that last shout, he jumped off the tree and towards the ground below.

"Usopp!" Kaya shouted in shock and fear as she watched him get closer and closer to the hard ground.

Her worry was proved to be unneeded, however, as Usopp pulled out a grappling hook and rope from his bag and, faster than anyone could blink, attached it to the branch, using it to land safely.

Once down, Usopp sent a hate-filled look at the butler, his fists clenched and trembling as Klahadore only smirked at the display. "Why so worked up? It's at times like this that you should do what you do best: lie. Just say that your father was a traveling salesman, or that you're not really related by blood-"

**"SHUT UP!"** Usopp roared, lunging forward. Klahadore let out a choked sound as Usopp's fist hit him square in the face and sent him sprawling onto the floor.

Several gasps were heard as Kaya clasped her hand over her mouth and the three children gaped at the scene. Lambo couldn't help but widen his eyes as well, where as Luffy, Zoro, and Nami continued to watch expressionlessly.

"Captain!" The children shouted. Usopp continued to stare down at the man, who pushed himself up to a sitting position, readjusting his glasses.

"See that? He immediately resorts to violence!" Klahadore continued to mock, even as he sat covered in dirt with a bruise forming on his cheek. "Like father, like son."

"SHUT UP! My father listened to his heart and chose a life of risk and adventure! I'm _proud_ to say that my father is a brave warrior of the sea! You're right, I exaggerate from time to time, but I'll _never_ lie about who my father is! I refuse to be ashamed of him! I AM THE SON OF A PIRATE!"

There was silence after that. Usopp's eyes were squeezed shut, his fists still clenched, his entire body trembling from the outburst.

It took only a few moments for Klahadore to laugh once again, however. "Pirates are brave warriors of the sea, are they?" He mocked. "You're quite naive."

Usopp's head snapped back up. "What?"

"You don't seem to understand that you are living proof of his savage blood," the butler continued, standing up and dusting himself off. "You run around spouting lies and using violence when you don't get your way. You're only trying to get close to Lady Kaya for her wealth!"

"You're wrong!" Usopp shouted, looking aghast at the implication. "I just-"

"Your father is a filthy, good-for-nothing pirate! Treachery is in your blood!" Klahadore cut him off, glaring back just as strongly.

"Why you...!" Usopp snarled, stomping forward and grabbing the other man by the shirt, his hand curling into a fist and raised into the air, ready to strike. "Stop insulting him!"

"STOP IT, USOPP!" Kaya's shriek pierced the air. The boy froze. "No more fighting! I can't take it! Klahadore isn't a bad person! He's only... He's only trying to do what he thinks is best for me and sometimes he goes too far!"

Usopp continued to glare bloody murder at the man, fist trembling in the air until he finally let it unclench and fall to his side, the hand holding Klahadore's shirt loosening. The butler slapped it away.

"Leave," he said coldly. "Never come here again!"

"...Fine, I get it," Usopp's voice was a forced calm as he walked past the butler. "You don't have to tell me twice. I'll never come back here again!"

"Usopp..." Kaya mumbled sorrowfully, watching him go.

The children snapped out of their stupor and ran up to Klahadore. "You bastard!"

"Stupid butler!"

"Our captain's nothing like that!"

"That's right, you jerkface!"

"Jerkface!"

"JERKFACE!" Luffy insulted loudly, being held back by Zoro and earning incredulous looks from Lambo and Nami.

_'One minute he's a blank slate, the next he's acting like a five-year-old,'_ the cow-clad boy thought with half-lidded eyes, watching as Luffy struggled against Zoro. _'I guess I can't blame him too much, though. That butler's kind of an asshole...'_

Klahadore sent the three children a cold glare, making them yelp and scramble back behind the older pirates. Luffy just continued to fight against Zoro's grip.

"Lemme go! Lemme go! Lemme go!"

"Luffy, cut it out!" Zoro grumbled in irritation, tightening his hold.

"No! Lemme go!"

Klahadore's expression grew even darker. "All of you leave this place at once! You are not welcome here!"

XXX

After being effectively kicked out of the manor grounds, the pirates and children found themselves resting on a fence overlooking a field, not having anything else to do at that point and being unable to find Usopp.

"So, hey," Nami spoke up, glancing over at him. "Where did Luffy go?"

The other two pirates blinked and looked around. Lambo groaned and facepalmed. "Great. When the hell did he even leave?"

"He's probably still out looking for Usopp," Zoro commented with a yawn. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Very reassuring," Lambo muttered sarcastically, casting him a side glare. "Seriously, though, I don't think leaving him alone in this place is a good idea."

Zoro scoffed. "You worry too much. He's not a little kid. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Lambo gave him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me right now? The last time we took our eyes off Luffy he was kidnapped by a bird, almost blown up by a clown, and almost mawled by a giant lion."

"But he's alive, ain't he?"

"Zoro, seriously. For all we know, he could be falling of a cliff as we speak."

"Honestly, I'm more worried about the damage he'd do to this poor village than anything else," Nami said flatly.

"Yeah, that is a possibility..." Lambo muttered in agreement, looking up at the sky in resignation.

"It's probably already happened."

"Just stop talking, Zoro..."

"Hey, did all that stuff really happen?" Ninjin asked in awe.

"No way! He's lying," Piiman said with a scoff.

Lambo glanced at them with a frown, realizing something. "...Hey, weren't there more of you?"

"Yeah, but Tamanegi left," Piiman said nonchalantly.

"You're not worried?"

"Nah, he does it all the time," Ninjin said with a shrug. "He disappears for a while and then comes running back and shouting lies."

_'These kids really take after their captain,'_ Lambo thought to himself in amusement, smiling a bit.

"I-IT'S HORRIBLE!" Everyone blinked and turned towards the sudden shout. In the distance, they could see the missing onion-haired boy running towards them as if the devil himself was on his heels.

"See?" Ninjin asked, seemingly untroubled by the panic his friend was showing.

Tamanegi stopped in front of them, trying to regain his breath. Once he did, he started gesturing wildly towards where he had come from. "I-I-I-I saw a man walking backwards!" He waved his arms frantically. "Seriously! He was seriously walking _backwards_!"

"Liar," his two friends called out flatly.

Tamanegi glared at them. "I'm not lying!" He turned around and pointed his finger at something approaching from the distance. "Look! See?!"

"Hm?" Everyone turned their heads to get a look at the figure as it slowly got closer. As it did, they could not help but stare in dumbfoundment.

There was indeed a man walking backwards. From what they could see of his back, he had long, grey-ish brown hair and was wearing a strange blue hat, a blue jacket, and long green pants. Once he was close enough, he turned around to reveal that he was also wearing strange heart-shaped sunglasses with red lenses and he had a beard that appeared to be striped.

"Which one of you was it?" The weirdo asked. "Which one called me weird?"

"...All of us," Lambo mumbled flatly, earning himself a glare from those heart-shaped glasses.

"I am _not_ weird," he corrected them simultaeniously doing a strange movement with his feet. "I'm just a hypnotist passing by. Jango the Hypnotist."

"That's pretty weird," Zoro stated.

"A hypnotist?" The children asked in awe, making the man thankfully miss what Zoro had said.

"Wow! Show us! Show us!" Piiman shouted, jumping up and down in excitement.

The man glared down at them all. "You have to be joking. Why should I show my skills to a bunch of snot-nosed brats I just met?" He then pulled out a metal ring attached to a string and held it in front of them. "Now, watch closely."

"He's doing it anyway," Zoro muttered in disbelief.

"What a strange, strange man," Lambo muttered back, arching an eyebrow at the scene.

"When I say 'one, two, Jango,' you will all fall into a deep sleep," Jango said, letting the ring sway back and forth. "One... Two... Jango!"

And with that, the three kids, as well as Jango himself, flopped onto the ground, the sound of their snoring filling the air.

Zoro's eye twitched in irritation. "What the hell was that supposed to be?"

"He put himself to sleep, too," Nami stated incredulously.

Lambo sighed at the scene, rubbing his forehead. _'Is the world really this full of weirdos, or am I just unlucky?'_

"When do you think they'll wake up?" The orange-haired girl asked.

"Don't know, don't care," was the swordsman's reply.

"...Yeah, okay. I think I'm just gonna go now. Maybe find Luffy and Usopp," the cow-clad boy finally said, jumping off the fence he had been sitting on and taking steps towards the village.

"Try not to get lost."

"I'm not you, Zoro."

"Hey."

XXX

As he looked around, Lambo quickly realized that there wasn't exactly much to see in the tiny Syrup Village. It looked like any other run-of-the-mill village, aside from the mansion looming on the hill.

As for finding Luffy and Usopp... That wasn't going so well either. Usually, Luffy would get himself into any number of crazy situations when left alone, so it would be easy to find him, but the village seemed peaceful. Perhaps not even Luffy could find something to do in this sleepy little place.

"That damn Usopp," a somewhat distant voice muttered in frustration. Looking over, he saw a man and a woman, presumably husband and wife. The woman was working on her garden, her husband helping her whilst muttering angrily. "I've had enough of him running around and spouting lies!"

"I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm by it," the woman said good naturedly as she plucked out some weeds.

"But he does it every damn day! It's always 'Pirates are coming! Pirates are coming!' What the hell does he expect to happen by doing that?!"

_'Well, I guess that butler was right about one thing. Usopp seems to be pretty well known here,'_ Lambo thought to himself as he passed them. _'I wonder why he does it?'_

Hearing enough from the couple, he began to walk again. As he walked, he passed by a few more villagers out and about. Most were talking about mundane things, but he heard some instances of Usopp's name being spoken. _'I should have asked those kids about it when I had the chance...'_

Heaving a sigh, he turned his attention away from the various townspeople and back in front of him. He stopped short when he saw a figure in the distance, running towards the village at a rapid pace. As it got closer, Lambo blinked in recognition. "Usopp?" He opened his mouth to say something when Usopp got closer, only to close it back up when the boy ran past him, not even sparing him a glance. "...Uh, okay then?" He mumbled, watching him leave with an arched eyebrow. The townspeople also looked up as he passed by, confusion in their expressions.

He turned back to look at where Usopp had come running from and froze when he saw two other immediately recognizable figures walking from it. _'Is that... The butler and that weirdo hypnotist?'_ He thought, frowning. It had been a long while since he had left the others to look at the town. Jango must have woken back up from his stupidety-induced slumber and took off. _'But why the hell are they walking together?'_

As he watched them pass by, he could have sworn the butler had sent him a glare. He was used to getting glares, but for some reason this one made him shudder. Shaking his head, a thought occured to him.

_'Come to think of it, didn't Luffy go after Usopp? I don't see him anywhere...'_

...

...

...

_'...Crap, what happened this time?'_ He took off.

XXX

"When I said you could be falling off a cliff, I was kidding, Luffy," Lambo muttered as he stared disbelievingly down the cliff.

Of course, Lambo knew that his strawhat-wearing captain was more than likely fine, being made of rubber. Considering that he got clawed by a giant lion and sent through several buildings and turned out completely alright, this was probably nothing to him.

Once he made it down the cliff, he approached the comatose body of his captain. His eyes widened when he saw that the fall had actually managed to cause Luffy's head to sink into the rocks, making him appear headless (and simultaeniously giving Lambo a near heartattack).

"That, uh, doesn't look good..." He quickly grabbed Luffy by the waist and proceeded to pull. "Rrrrgh! Come on, Luffy!" He grunted, pulling with all his might. At first, all he succeeded in doing was causing Luffy's neck to stretch. Then, miraculously, he was able to dislodge Luffy's head from the stone ground, falling backwards as he did so. "Oof!" He groaned and pushed himself off the hard ground, rubbing his head where he hit it. "Ow... Luffy?"

"...Huh?" Luffy pushed himself up and looked around blearily. He blinked as his eyes stopped at Lambo before stretching his arms and letting out a long yawn. "Man, that was a good nap..."

Lambo felt his eye give an involuntary twitch. "Luffy, you fell off a cliff."

"Oh, really?" The boy replied almost nonchalantly, picking his straw hat up off the floor and brushing the dirt off of it. "That sounds pretty bad."

"...Why do I even bother?"

"I dunno."

"That was a rhetorical question, Luffy."

Luffy placed his hat back on his head and flashed a grin. "I have no idea what that means, but okay!"

Lambo just shot him an exasperated look before sighing. "How did you manage to fall off a cliff anyway?"

The other boy frowned and looked up towards the place he had presumably fallen from. He stared thoughtfully for a few moments before his eyes went wide. "Oh, crap, that's right!" He suddenly shouted, causing Lambo to nearly jump in surprise. "That jerkface's gonna kill that girl!"

The cow-clad boy blinked, not comprehending. "What?"

"That butler guy! Uh..." He trailed off with a frown.

"...Klahadore?" Lambo supplied.

"Yeah! That guy!" Luffy shouted, pointing at him.

Lambo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Said eyes widened, however, when Luffy's earlier statement fully sunk in. "Wait, what?! He's going to kill that rich girl?!"

"Yeah!"

"How do you know that? And why were you taking a stone nap instead of telling us?! Seriously, a little fall like that shouldn't have been enough to knock you out! How'd you even fall in the first place?!"

"I dunno!"

Lambo groaned and pressed a hand to his face. "...Okay, Luffy," he finally said, giving a long sigh of exasperation. "Can you at least remember what happened before you fell?"

"Hmmm..." Luffy scrunched up his face as he struggled to remember. "...Um, I saw the butler guy talking to some weirdo..."

"...What did he look like?" Lambo asked, remembering seeing Klahadore and Jango walking together.

"Like a weirdo!"

"...I'm gonna need you to be more specific than that," Lambo mumbled, sighing once again, as he was prone to doing. "Was he wearing a hat? Did he have long hair?"

Luffy crossed his arms and scrunched up his face in thought once again. "Hmmm..."

"...Was he wearing creepy heart-shaped glasses?"

Luffy snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah!"

"Damn, it must have been that hypnotist then..." Lambo cursed, grimacing and looking back towards the way he had come.

"Hypnotist?" The other boy asked. "...What's that?"

"...I see how you got put to sleep so easily," Lambo sighed for what must have been the fiftieth time. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we should go and tell the others about what you saw."

"Luffy? Lambo? Hey! Up here!" A familiar female voice shouted from above. Both boys looked up, catching sight of Nami waving at them from atop the cliff, Zoro standing next to her with his arms crossed. The three children were there as well, peeking down at them.

"There they are!" Luffy proclaimed, waving his arms at them. "Heeeey! Down heeere!"

"Hold on! We're coming down!"

XXX

"Wh-What?!" Ninjin gaped. "He's going to do _WHAT_?!"

"The village is gonna be attacked?!" Piiman exclaimed.

"Everyone's gonna be killed?!" Tamanegi shouted in horror.

"Is that true?" Zoro asked, narrowing his eyes.

Luffy nodded with an almost ridiculously unconcerned expression. "Yeah, that's what they said. No doubt about it."

"Wh-Wh-What do we do?!" Tamanegi shouted as the three children ran around in panic.

Zoro gave them a half-lidded look before turning his attention back to Luffy. "So, why didn't you come and tell us?"

"Oh, that. I fell off a cliff," Luffy replied offhandedly.

Zoro opened his mouth to say something, closed it, blinked, and finally looked at Lambo. The cow-clad boy just gave him a shrug and an "I-told-you-so" look. "That Heart-Hypnotist probably caused it."

"Heart-Hypnotist...?" Nami mumbled with a half-lidded expression. "Are you serious?" She was ignored.

"So then...Klahadore really _is_ evil!" Ninjin shouted to Piiman, who nodded in agreement.

"No wonder he's such a creep!"

"That must be why the Captain was running towards the village like a maniac!" Tamanegi joined in.

"This is a good thing, though," Nami spoke up. "Now we can warn the villagers to get out before the attack. They were too careless!"

"They must have thought the impact killed Luffy," Lambo stated, looking back up towards the cliff. "Lucky for us they don't know about his Devil Fruit."

"H-Hey, that's right, we can run away!" Piiman exclaimed in relief once he and the other two children finally stopped running around like headless chickens.

"R-Right! We should just take the important stuff and run for it!"

"Yeah! Let's hurry!" Piiman shouted, turning and bursting into a run towards the village with his two friends hurrying after him, leaving the four pirates in their dust.

"Well, there they go. Wonder if they'll be alright," Lambo muttered as he watched them disappear into the distance.

"Ah! Oh no!" Luffy suddenly shouted, jumping up.

Everyone quickly turned to him, eyes wide. "What is it? Did you remember something else?!" Nami asked.

"If we don't hurry, the shop keepers will be all gone and we won't be able to get any meat!"

Lambo and Nami just gave him incredulous looks while Zoro poked him in the back of the head with one of his swords. "This isn't the time for that, Luffy."

"Whoa! My hat!" Luffy shouted, springing forward to catch his hat, which had been knocked off by Zoro.

Lambo rolled his eyes at the boy's antics before turning his attention towards the sky. "It looks like the sun's gonna set soon. Let's find Usopp and warn the villagers."

"Oh, yeah, good idea!" Luffy proclaimed, grinning as he put his hat back where it belonged.

"We might even catch up with those kids."

"Let's go!"

XXX

"Captain!"

The first sight they had of the three children once they caught up to them was them running happily towards Usopp, who was lumbering out of the village towards them.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted with a grin, waving at him as well.

The moment Usopp spotted Luffy, his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped so far that Lambo was momentarily afraid that it would fall off. Rushing over, he stopped in front of him and stared at him as if he was seeing a ghost. "Y-You! How the hell are you still alive?!"

"Huh? I woke up, that's all."

"W-Woke up? You don't just wake up after falling off a cliff!"

"Well, I did."

"B-B-But-!"

Lambo heaved a sigh. "Just leave it, Usopp. You're not going to get a better answer out of him."

"But, anyway, Captain," Tamanegi interrupted, shaking his head. "We need to hurry up and warn everyone about the pirates!"

Usopp's eyes widened slightly and his mouth formed a grim line. "W-Warn everyone...?" Everyone looked at him in confusion as he fell silent, growing concerned when he started to tremble slightly.

"Captain? What's wro-" Tamanegi started, but was abruptly cut off when Usopp raised his head, laughing.

"Aw, guys, I was just kidding! I was pissed at Klahadore, so I made up a story that he's a pirate! It was just a joke!"

The children stared at him in confusion for a moment before realizing what he said and laughing along with him. "Oh, I get it!"

"So these guys got fooled by the Captain!"

Still laughing, the three children started walking. They walked past their captain, who looked at them in confusion, and towards the village. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The children stopped and turned around, their laughter gone and grim expressions on their faces.

"You know...I'm starting to lose respect for you, Captain," Ninjin spoke.

"Me too," Piiman agreed.

"And me," Tamanegi nodded, disappointment clear on his face. "Even if Klahadore is a jerk...I never thought you'd make up something like this to hurt someone," he mumbled before they turned away and continued their treck home.

Usopp's expression fell. "H-Hey..."

"To think that we respected you so much, Captain..."

"I'm really disappointed."

"Me too."

"Let's go. It's dinnertime."

"I wonder what we'll have?"

Their voices faded as they disappeared from view.

"...Well, that was harsh," Lambo said after a moment of silence. Looking back at Usopp, his eyes widened when he caught sight of a familiar red liquid dripping out from where his hand was clasped over his arm. "H-Hey, are you okay? You're bleeding..."

"Huh? Oh..." Usopp mumbled, looking down at it. "It's nothing..."

"We should still take care of it before it becomes infected or something," Lambo said with a concerned frown. "...And then you can tell us what happened."

"...Yeah. Yeah, okay."

XXX

"Ow! Ow!" Usopp shouted, wincing as Nami pressed the rag against his wounds, disinfecting them. "Watch it! That really hurts!"

"I told you it would sting a little," Nami said with a huff as she continued her work.

"This isn't a little!"

"Alright, there we go," Nami said, wrapping the now disinfected wound in pristine white bandages. Usopp quickly pulled his arm away from her and held it, wincing.

"You coulda been a little gentler..."

Lambo rolled his eyes slightly at the display before looking up at the pitch black sky. Once they had found Usopp, they had gone back to the cliff so as to avoid running into any villagers, or worse yet Klahadore himself. He looked back at the long-nosed boy with a frown. "So, what exactly happened?"

Usopp froze, hand slightly tightening around his wound, before relaxing and sighing. "...Klahadore, or I guess we should start calling him Captain Kuro, is a pirate. We overheard him saying that he's going to attack the village and kill everyone, including Kaya. He's been her butler for years preparing for this day... I tried to warn everyone, but..." He gestured at the bandaged up wound. "...It didn't work out so well."

"I see..." Lambo muttered, lowering his gaze. Obviously more had to have happened than just that. He decided against pushing the other boy, however.

"...Hey, why did you say all that stuff earlier?" Luffy asked with a frown.

Usopp blinked at him. "Huh? Oh, you mean Piiman, Ninjin, and Tamanegi?" Seeing Luffy nod, he looked down and sighed. "Because I'm a liar. No one would believe me. No one _did_ believe me..." He laughed softly. "I was too naive..."

"Even if you were, you still told the truth," Zoro pointed out.

"Those pirates are really coming, aren't they?" Nami asked.

Usopp nodded grimly. "Yeah. There's no doubt about it. And everyone thinks that it'll just be an ordinary day tomorrow..." He gritted his teeth, hands clentched so hard that his knuckles turned white as he surged up to his feet. "But I'll stop those pirates at the coast! I'll make it so it really was just one big lie! It's my duty as a liar! Even though... Even though they didn't believe me, chased me, and even shot me..." He bowed his head, shoulders trembling, and Lambo quickly realized he was crying. "This is still _my_ village! I love this village! I want to protect everyone!"

Zoro gave a small smirk and grasped one of his swords. "Heh. Never thought you'd be this kinda guy. Ditching your friends so you can fight that butler one on one."

"Let's get this straight, all the pirates' treasure belongs to me, alright?" Nami remarked.

Lambo glanced at them all. Somehow, he knew that it would have ended up this way. "I don't really know what I can do, but I'll give it a shot."

"Right! We'll lend you a hand," Luffy finished off.

Usopp looked at them with wide eyes, tears still leaking out of them. "Y-You guys...really wanna help me? Why?"

"'Cause they have a lot more people," Luffy stated.

"Yeah, if you try to fight them alone you'll get your ass kicked," Lambo said flatly with a nod, causing Usopp to freeze before slumping slightly.

"If you're scared you can change your mind," Zoro pointed out, seeing his reaction.

The long-nosed boy quickly wiped away his tears and stood up, a forced look of confidence on his face. "M-Me?! Scared?! No way! It doesn't matter how many of them there are! I'll be fine! For I am Captain Usopp! Brave warrior of the high seas!"

A chattering sound filled the air and the pirates looked down at Usopp's legs, which were shaking uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth and pounded his fists down on them, trying to get them to stop trembling. "Dammit! Dammit! Alright, fine, I'm scared! Why shouldn't I be?! These are Captain Kuro's men! I'm scared and I admit it! If you guys wanna help me just because you pity me, then just leave!"

"Would you calm down? We're not doing this because we pity you," Zoro spoke up. "We're doing this because we admire your courage."

Lambo nodded. "You've got a lot of guts. We respect that."

"Yeah! We wouldn't be risking our lives like this because of pity!" Luffy assured.

Usopp went completely silent as he stared at them in utter shock. Tears once again started filling his eyes, but this time for an entirely different reason. "Damn... You guys... Yeah, let's do it!"


	16. A Tale of Two Slopes

"Alright, listen up!" Usopp shouted firmly as he led the way up the slope, the four pirates following after him. "Those guys are planning to attack the village from this very coast! _However!_ This is the only route that leads to the village! The rest is just cliffs; there's no other way for them to attack. In other words, if we hold firm to this slope, the pirates can't attack!"

_'Usopp is a surprisingly good tactician...'_ Lambo thought to himself, impressed. "It's hard to believe you thought of this all so quickly..."

Usopp put his hands on his sides and puffed his chest out proudly, a smirk on his face. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm the number one liar in the world! If I didn't know how to do this, I'd never be able to escape the angry villagers!"

"...I, uh, see."

"Well, it sounds easy enough," Luffy said with a nod.

Usopp faltered a bit and frowned. "Well, talking about it is easy. But actually doing it is a different story. I need to know what you guys are capable of."

"Cutting," Zoro said, placing a hand on his sword.

"Stretching!" Luffy said, raising a fist.

"Stealing," Nami said with a smirk.

"Zapping," Lambo said, crossing his arms.

Usopp nodded. "Right. "And I'll be hiding."

No sooner than he had said that, Usopp found himself in a headlock, courtesy of Zoro, with the pirates all glaring daggers at him.

"YOU'RE FIGHTING!"

"O-Okay, okay! I was just kidding!"

Lambo huffed and looked back out at the coast. "Alright, so we know where they'll be coming from. Now we just need some kind of plan..."

Zoro let go of Usopp, who flopped onto the ground, coughing slightly. "G-Geez, you nearly broke my neck!"

Zoro scoffed. "Quit whining. I didn't choke you that hard."

"Yes you did!"

Lambo glanced back at them. "Usopp, do you have any kind of plan?"

Usopp stood back up and crossed his arms, frowning as if personally insulted. "Of course I have a plan! A good liar always has a proper plan if they don't wanna get caught!"

"So what's the plan then?" Nami asked impatiently.

Usopp grinned and motioned for them to follow him. "We'll need some stuff first! Follow me!"

XXX

"Here we are!" Usopp said, gesturing with his hands dramatically. "Behold! My secret base!"

The four pirates just blinked at the shack the long-nosed boy gestured to. Said shack was pretty small, about the size of a bedroom maybe. The wood looked old and worn with mold growing near the bottom. There was a rusty looking padlock holding the door closed. If anyone wanted to break into it (and honestly why would they), it wouldn't take much effort. The small building wasn't that far from the boy's house, sitting snugly between a couple of old-looking trees.

After a few seconds of staring, Zoro spoke up. "Isn't this just a shack?"

Usopp looked insulted. "I'll have you know that this secret base is a family heirloom! It belonged to my great great great great great grandfather! He was a famous pirate that traveled all over the world, gathering strange and mysterious treasures, which he put into this very shack!" Usopp finished, gesturing dramatically.

Zoro, Nami, and Lambo remained unimpressed. "So it _is_ a shack," the swordsman said flatly.

Usopp stumbled a bit before crossing his arms and huffing, an irritated look on his face. "No, it's a _secret base_. Get it right!"

"But you just called it a shack," Nami pointed out with a smirk.

"Th-That was a slip of the toungue!"

"Wait, is all that really true?! This place is full of treasure?!" Luffy asked with all the enthusiasm of a child, eyes sparkling as they gazed at the sha- secret base.

Usopp regained his composure and smirked as he crossed his arms smugly. "That's right! And not just any treasures! These are mystical treasures gathered from all around the globe! There's a sacred jewel that can grant immortality! A flute that breathes fire when you blow in it! A suit of armor that can make you invincible! Stuff like that!"

"Amazing!" Luffy exclaimed, giddy with excitement.

Lambo just watched them with a deadpan expression. _'He's lying. He's totally lying. It's like he's not even trying to be believable either...'_

"Let's go in right now! I wanna see 'em all!" Luffy said, already walking forward.

"Wh-Whoa, whoa, wait! You can't!" Usopp stuttered, blocking him from reaching the sha- secret base.

Luffy stopped and looked at him in confusion and disappointment. "What? Why?"

"B-B-B-Because... Because they're meant for my eyes only! If someone were to find out about them, who knows what'll happen?! S-So you should stay out here!"

Luffy slumped. "Aw..."

Lambo raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh, really? How about you get some of those things and we can use them against the pirates."

"O-Oh, uh..." Usopp looked around nervously as he fumbled for an answer. "Th-The thing about that is..."

Nami rolled her eyes at the scene. "Don't play along with him! It's obvious you're lying, so let's just go in already."

Luffy swiveled around to look at her, shocked. "What?! He was lying?!"

"Of course he's lying! Don't tell me you actually believed him?" Nami asked the boy in disbelief.

"Well, Usopp?"

"A-Alright, so I may have stretched the truth a little!" Usopp admitted. "But it really is a secret base, so stop calling it a shack!"

"Sure, sure. Let's just go in, alright?" Lambo said as he walked past the boy, the other pirates following suit.

"...F-Fine..." Usopp mumbled, slumping and following after them.

The four waited as Usopp took off the padlock with a key from his pouch. Seeing how rusted it was, though, Lambo was sure they could just smack it and it would fall off. "I think you should consider getting a new lock."

"Huh? The lock's fine!" To prove this, Usopp tossed the padlock into the air and caught it in his hand. As a result, the top of the padlock broke off, falling to the ground in a small pile of rust and metal.

Lambo gazed down at it with a flat look. "..."

"...Okay, so maybe I need a new lock." With that, the long-nosed boy turned on his heel to face the shac- secret base and pushed the door open. "Behold!"

As the pirates went into the small building and looked around, Lambo came to the conclusion that it was...actually kind of impressive. Not the place itself, it was a piece of junk, but the stuff inside of it. Grappling hooks, slingshots, all sorts of pellets for said slingshots, barrels of all kinds of different things from oil to water, what looked like flash bombs, and all sorts of other strange contraptions, some looking like they were still in the process of being built.

"Impressed, right?!" The long-nosed boy continued proudly. "Check out all my equipment!"

"What do you even use this stuff for?" Nami asked, looking at it all in disbelief.

"Well, I make a lot of my own ammo, so there's stuff for that. And there's also all the stuff I use to get away from the villagers! Like smoke bombs, flash bombs, grappling hooks..." he said, counting off his fingers.

"So it's that kind of stuff, huh?" Zoro said, looking around in disinterest.

"H-Hey, you say that like it's a bad thing..."

Lambo glanced at Luffy, who was looking around silently. "What's up, Luffy? Are you still upset he was lying?"

"Because it all sounded so cool!"

"I see..." With that, he looked at Usopp, who was stopping Zoro from touching something he found on the table, and finally asked the question. "So...why are we here?"

"Oh, right!" Usopp hurried over to a group of barrels sitting in the far left corner of the shac- secret base and pointed at one in particular. "Here! This!"

"...It's a barrel," Zoro said, staring at the moldy old barrel with half-lidded eyes.

"Filled with oil!" Usopp shouted, grabbing the lid and prying it open to reveal the dirty-looking liquid.

Zoro's expression didn't change. "...Okay?"

Usopp shook his head and glared at him. "No! You're not getting it! We can use this against the pirates!"

"Oh, I see! We use this to set them on fire!" Luffy exclaimed, grinning and nodding.

"What? No! W-Well, I mean, I guess we could do that too, but that's not what I'm talking about!" Usopp shouted, shaking his head at them before sighing. "Listen, we're gonna pour this all over the slope. Then, while they're tripping all over themselves, we can take them out!"

Nami blinked and nodded. "Oh, I see. That's actually pretty smart!"

"You say that like it's surprising..." Usopp mumbled.

"Great, so we've got a plan," Zoro said with a nod. "Now we just take this back to the slope, right?"

Luffy crossed his arms and nodded. "Okay! You carry it, Zoro!"

Zoro glared back at him. "Don't be lazy. You're helping, too."

"Two should be enough," Usopp said, gesturing at the barrels. "That's, uh, all I have anyway," he finished lamely.

"How did you even get these things, anyway?" Nami asked with an arched eyebrow as Luffy and Zoro grabbed hold of the barrels.

Usopp smirked. "That is another great story! You see-"

"On second thought, never mind. I'll be outside," Nami interrupted, turning and walking away.

"H-Hey, come on!" Usopp shouted after her. "I swear it's a one hundred percent true story!"

"Sure, sure," she waved off, not pausing as she went out the door.

Usopp slumped in disappointment and Lambo gave him a pat on the back. "If it's any consolation, I'm pretty sure Luffy will always believe anything you say."

Usopp glanced at him. "Hey, why aren't you helping?"

"They look like they've got it covered."

"...Aren't you the one who's being lazy then?"

"Maybe," Lambo agreed, taking a better look around now that there weren't a bunch of people cluttering up the small building. "I can't believe you can stuff all this inside such a tiny shack..."

"I keep telling you, it's not a shack..." The long-nosed boy mumbled, sending him a slight glare.

"Right, right, sorry. I meant _secret base_ ," he corrected with a small smirk, adding air quotes for good measure.

Usopp gave him an unimpressed look. "You done yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm done," the cow-clad boy said, crossing his arms. "I guess I can kind of understand how you feel, though. I used to have a secret base myself."

The other boy perked up at that. "Really?"

Lambo nodded. "Yeah." His smirk returned. "When I was seven."

"Oh," Usopp mumbled, slumping again.

_'It's really easy to mess with him. I'm actually starting to feel kind of bad...'_ Uncrossing his arms, he gave him a smile. "It's honestly not that bad of a secret base, though. Much better than the one I had."

Usopp lifted his head and looked at him in surprise before smirking and crossing his arms smugly. "Isn't it?! My father built it himself!"

"That's impressive," Lambo said placatingly before turning his attention back to the door. "But we should probably get going before Luffy decides to do something stupid with those barrels."

"Huh? What would he..." He trailed off as his mind no doubt supplied him with numerous scenarios. "H-Hey! You'd better not drop that! That's all the oil I have!"

_'Where did he even get all that oil?'_ Lambo thought to himself with a sigh and a shake of his head as the other boy rushed out the door, leaving a trail of dust behind him. Walking over to the door himself, he paused and sent a backwards glance at the room.

He was pretty sure that most children had secret bases at one point or another. And it seemed that Usopp hadn't really outgrown that phase like Lambo did.

Lambo's own had been a much smaller, older shack he had stumbled upon during one of his many outings exploring the Vongola mansion and everything around it. It had probably once been used for storage but had since lost its purpose and was simply abandoned. It was tiny, dirty, and all he could really do inside it was draw and read, but it was somewhere he could go when he wanted to be on his own for a while.

However, he only ended up having it for about three months. His memories of the exact circumstances were fuzzy at best, but to make a long story short he managed to piss of Gokudera again, ending with the explosion of his small secret base. Lambo was pretty upset at the time, he remembered, and Tsuna consoled him by giving him one of the unused rooms in the mansion as his new secret base.

Unfortunately, unlike his shack, the room wasn't exactly "secret." Everyone knew where it was if they wanted to find him for chores or to scold him for doing something wrong, and so on. He used the room for about a month before finally losing interest. It just wasn't the same when it wasn't secret. He hadn't been back to it once since then.

_'What a strange thing to be remembering now,'_ he thought with a small smile. _'...Maybe I miss them a bit more than I thought I would. It's too late now, though. I've made my decision and I'm sticking to it.'_

As his feet brought him back outside, door closing behind him, he idly wondered if they were using that room for anything now, or if it was just the way he left it.

Well, he supposed it didn't matter now. The past was the past, and it would probably be a long, long time before he set foot in the Vongola mansion again.

...If he ever did.

XXX

"You, uh, wanna run that by me again?" Usopp asked as he stared in utter shock at the little five-year-old who was apparently supposed to be Lambo. They had finally gotten the barrels back to the slope and were just about to pour them onto the ground when pink smoke started to envelop the black-haired boy.

Lambo had let out a curse, there was a loud pop, and then a little kid with an afro stood in his place, crying his little eyes out. Said kid was currently sitting on Luffy's head, asking him to let him use him as a trampoline again, whatever that meant.

"Time travel," Zoro replied with a shrug. "Some kind of...bazooka I think it was? I don't really remember the specifics."

"So you're saying time travel really exists?! You're not just messing with me?!"

"Trust me, we're not," Nami said with a sigh. "And these idiots just treat it like it's a normal thing."

"Seriously?!"

"Well, it is kind of a normal thing to Lambo, I guess," Zoro pointed out with a shrug.

"That doesn't make it normal!" The orange-haired girl shot back.

Lambo stopped bouncing on Luffy's head and looked at her with a scrunched up expression. "You're loud, Orange Lady."

Nami glared at him sharply. "You're not calling me that."

Lambo gave a childish smirk as he chanted, "Orange Lady~! Orange Lady~!"

"Cut it out!"

"Lambo-san has decided!" The boy suddenly announced, jumping off Luffy's head and landing in the middle of the group of pirates. He pointed his little finger at Nami, who blinked. "From now on, you're Orange Lady." He then pointed at Zoro. "You're Plant-Head!" At Usopp. "You're Long-Nose!" And finally at Luffy. "And you're Big Bro!"

Luffy put both fists in the air in triumph. "I got the best one!"

"Yeah, 'cause all the others are basically insults," Zoro said flatly, sighing in resignation. "Fine, whatever. I guess I can live with a five-year-old calling me Plant-Head..." He glanced back at his captain. "Looks like you're his favorite, Luffy."

Meanwhile, Usopp huffed. "It's not _that_ long."

"It's super long!" Lambo said back. He then stretched his arms as wide as he could. "This long!"

"I-It's nowhere near that long!"

"Enough, we need to get back to work!" Nami spoke, putting her hands up in a "stop" position. "The pirates? Remember?"

"Crap! That's right!" Usopp shouted, scrambling towards the forgotten barrels and grabbing one, trying to drag it toward the slope. "Why are you guys just standing there?! Hurry up and help me!"

"Right, right. We're coming," Zoro said back with a sigh as he and the other two made their way over to him.

"Hey, Big Bro! Watch'a doing?" Lambo asked, trailing after the straw-hat wearing pirate.

"We're gonna stop some pirates from attacking the village!" Luffy replied cheerfully, hefting up one of the barrels while Zoro helped Usopp with the other one.

"Really?!" Lambo shouted in excitement, eyes practically glowing. "Oh! Oh! Let Lambo-san help!"

"Sure!"

"Yay!" With that, Lambo went over to help Luffy. Well, all he really did was jump on the barrel and cheer as Luffy carried it forward.

Nami couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight, a small smile on her face. "Kids..."

She estimated that the younger Lambo had about a minute left before he would have to go back to his own time. Probably for the best. She doubted a little five-year-old would be much help in anything.

"Nami! What are you doing? You need to help too!"

"You guys have it handled."

"What?!"

XXX

"They're still not here yet?" Luffy whined, staring at the wide, empty sea with a pout. "What do you think happened?"

"Maybe they overslept," Zoro suggested.

"That sounds more like something you'd do, Zoro," Lambo said flatly. The handprint on his face that he had come back with after his five-minute romp in the future had long since faded away. When asked about it, all he did was give a pathetic sigh. Everyone decided to leave it at that.

_'I really don't understand why Haru thinks I'm a pervert...'_ He thought dejectedly.

"No, they'll definitely come," Usopp spoke up, breaking Lambo out of his thoughts. "They're just a little late."

"Really," Lambo mumbled, seeing no ship in sight.

"...Hey, guys," Nami spoke up. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Luffy asked with a frown.

"Maybe I'm just hearing things...but it sounds like yelling coming from somewhere."

"Are you sure? I don't hear anything," Lambo mumbled, straining his ears.

"No, I definitely hear something!"

"...Uh, now that you mention it..." Usopp spoke up, tone wavering slightly.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

Usopp's eyes widened in panic. "Th-There's another slope up north!"

Lambo's eyes widened and he stood up from where he had been sitting against the stone wall of the cliff. "Don't tell me we're on the wrong coast? Why didn't you tell us there were two?!"

"W-Well, this is where they met, so I just assumed this was the coast they were talking about!"

"Hey, we gotta hurry then! Where did you say the other coast was?!" Luffy shouted.

"H-Head straight north from here and it should take you about three minutes!" The long-nosed boy responded. "The other slope looks just like this one! We just have to stop them there, but..." He looked back at the pool of oil they had left. "That was all the oil I had..."

"We'll figure something out!"

"CRAP!" Nami suddenly shouted, and everyone's heads quickly swiveled around to look at her. Her eyes were wide in horror and realization. "That's where our ships are anchored! They'll take all my treasure!"

"Is that really all you care about?!" Lambo shouted in disbelief.

"I'll be there in twenty seconds!" Luffy shouted, turning and running off towards the village.

"Dammit! I came up with such a great plan for nothing!" Usopp cursed, running after him.

"My treasure..." Nami mumbled.

"What are you doing? Let's go!" Zoro shouted at her.

"Right, we need to hurry," Lambo said, turning around towards where the other two boys ran off to.

"Yeah! Let's go before those bastards take all my trea-GAH!"

Nami's sudden yelp caused Lambo to turn just in time to see her slip on the oil, grabbing onto Zoro by reflex. That in turn caused Zoro to fall backwards towards the oil. He could only watch in bafflement as both of them slid further down. _'Are you kidding me right now?'_

"Help, I'm slipping!" The orange-haired girl shouted, clutching onto Zoro's ankle.

"Let me go, you idiot!" The swordsman shouted back.

"Sorry!"

"Dammit, what _else_ can go wrong?" Lambo muttered to himself under his breath before hurrying over and offering a hand. "Alright, grab on!"

Zoro turned away from Nami and arched an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure? No offense, but you don't really look strong enough to pull us both out of here."

"Don't know if you don't try," Lambo said, extending his hand further. _'Besides, you're our strongest crew member, next to Luffy,'_ he didn't say. _'You're much more useful in a fight than I could be...'_

"...Well, if you say so." Zoro reached up and grasped his hand. Lambo grunted as he took a step back and attempted to pull the green-haired man (and the navigator latching onto him) forward. He managed to make them move a few inches before his foot accidentally found itself touching the oil spill. Slipping, he lurched forward and started sliding down. Eyes widening, he managed to grab onto the bottom of Zoro's shirt before he could slip too far downwards, causing the green-haired man to slip slightly in the process.

"Dammit! Well, that didn't work," Zoro said.

"Oh, screw this!" Nami suddenly shouted. "I'll go on ahead!"

Zoro and Lambo both blinked in confusion and looked at her. "What?"

Nami grabbed Zoro's leg more firmly before using it to pull herself forward. Zoro's eyes widened as he slipped farther and farther down. He let out a grunt as Nami stepped on his head, using it to catapult herself to the other side of the oil spill, and continued slipping downward, dragging Lambo along with him. Nami then took off, giving a backwards wave.

"Sorry! It's for my treasure!"

"Wha- GET BACK HERE!" Zoro shouted after her as he and Lambo slid all the way to the other side of the slope. 

"Dammit, Nami..." Lambo mumbled as he stood up and watched as Zoro attempted to run up the slope, only to slide back down. "What now?"

XXX

"My name is Captain Usopp! And I'm here to protect this village! If you don't want to die, then leave this place!"

Usopp trembled as he spoke, knees shaking at the sight of the small army of pirates. There were probably around fifty of them, each wearing cat-eared hats, the trademark of the Black Cat Pirates. Said pirates only smirked and started to chuckle at him.

_'Wh-Why am I the first one here?!'_ Usopp thought shakily. _'Where the hell are you guys?!'_

XXX

"Gotta head north! Gotta head north!" Luffy shouted, running as fast as he could through the village.

He grimaced.

"But which way's north?!"

XXX

"DAMMIT!" The swordsman shouted. Lambo watched as Zoro slid down the slope, once again failing to reach the top. "Damn that Nami!"

"I don't think we're gonna get out that way, Zoro," Lambo said, standing to the side with his arms crossed and looking around for another solution. "If only we had something to keep us from sliding down. Maybe we could grab onto the edges of the slope? The stone looks too smooth, though..."

"...Alright."

"Hm?" Lambo blinked as Zoro took out his swords and positioned himself in front of the oil spill. "What are you-"

"Grab onto me."

The cow-clad boy frowned. "Um, what?"

"Just do it! I have an idea."

"Um, alright?" Lambo walked over to him and, after contemplating for a while, placed both hands on Zoro's shoulders and held tightly onto the fabric of his shirt. "Okay, ready. Do...whatever it is you're gonna do."

As soon as he said that, Zoro lunged forward, stabbing his swords into the ground right into the oil spill. Lambo yelped as he was tugged forward. Zoro used the swords to get a grip in the slippery ground, stabbing, lunging forward, and re-stabbing until he finally made it to the other side.

Once there, Lambo let go and landed onto the ground in a sitting position. "Why didn't you do that in the first place?!"

"Shut it! I just thought of it! Now, which way's north?!"


	17. Black Cat Pirates

"Are you sure this is the right way?!" Zoro called as they ran through the empty town, all the residents still being asleep in their beds.

"I think so!" Lambo shouted back. Inwardly, he grimaced. He remembered, vaugely, that back when he was a child in school they taught about compasses and how to tell which way you were going if you didn't have one. Unfortunately, his child self spent his school life completely disregarding the teachers and playing instead. And, after maturing a bit, just daydreaming during classes.

He was really starting to regret that now.

Well, he saw a glimpse of another pathway leading out of the village during his exploration a day ago, so he was sure that this was the right way.

Mostly sure.

...Moderately sure.

He really wished he had a compass. And maybe he needed to stop giving Zoro shit for his sense of direction when he didn't even know which way north was.

"Hey, isn't that Luffy?"

"Huh?"

He looked back at Zoro to see him looking to their right. Looking over, the first thing his mind processed was a dust cloud. Then he realized that said dust cloud was being caused by their captain running towards them.

Both Lambo and Zoro stopped and waited for him to reach them, expecting him to stop as well. But the other boy just ran past them, not even looking where he was going.

Lambo rolled his eyes and called for him. "Luffy! Stop!"

The strawhat-wearing boy screeched to a halt, and turned to look at them. Hurrying over, he shouted, "Which ways' north?!"

"Luffy, have you been lost this whole time?" Lambo asked.

"Because Usopp never told me which way north was!" Luffy shouted in defense.

_'...Damn, all three of us have no sense of direction. Thank God we have Nami.'_ "Fine, just follow us," Lambo said as he continued running, Luffy and Zoro following behind him.

"You know which way north is?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.

"More or less," Lambo said, before mumbling under his breath, "Hopefully..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

XXX

_'Oh, thank God. I was right,'_ Lambo thought as they arrived at what could only be the north slope. "There it is."

"About time," Zoro grumbled as they approached.

It was then that they noticed a particular sound filling the area in front of them. Lambo recognized it as the sound of battle cries and of rapid footsteps that indicated running. The noise was getting louder, which meant that the source was getting closer.

The source of the noise finally revealed themselves to be a large group of pirates, stampeding towards them, obviously just starting to make their way to the village. Curiously, they all seemed to be wearing black hats that had what looked like cat ears sticking out of the top.

_'Okay,'_ Lambo thought to himself. _'Not the strangest thing I've seen up till now.'_

Zoro scoffed and grabbed the handle of one of his swords. "Just some lackeys."

Luffy cracked his knuckles as he frowned at the group of cat-eared pirates. "Alright. Let's take care of 'em."

Lambo let his Lightning Flames alight in his hands. "Let's handle this before their captain gets here."

The pirates halted in front of them and stared at them in confusion. "What, _more_ of you?"

"So I take it Usopp and Nami already got here," Zoro stated.

"Looks like it," Lambo confirmed. "We just have to get past these guys."

"Good. I'm still pissed off at Nami. This'll help me work off some anger."

"Me too!" Luffy said.

Lambo looked back and forth between the two before sighing. "Yare, yare..."

XXX

"What the?" Usopp said as he watched the pirates that had run past him moments ago be sent flying back, flopping onto the ground as they lost consciousness. Some of them seemed to be convulsing with emerald-green electricity sparking around their bodies. "What the hell?"

"About time you guys got here!" Nami shouted, waving as their three crewmates came into view. "What took you so long?"

Zoro glared daggers at her, gritting his teeth angrily. "You know what!"

"Usopp, you bastard!" Luffy shouted. "You never told me which way north was!"

"H-Huh?! You're the one who ran off! Besides, it's not my fault if you're directionally challenged!" The long-nosed boy shouted back.

Luffy frowned. "Well, I kinda did that on a whim..."

Lambo frowned at him. Usopp was battered and bruised and there was a patch of blood around the back of his head. It looks like he had put up quite a fight. "Are you two okay?"

"I'm okay," Nami answered.

"And you?"

"Uh, yeah, more or less," Usopp said. He looked at the unconscious pirates and then back at them. "Just how strong _are_ you guys?!"

"So, was that all of them?" 

"I think so," Nami said, looking back at all the pirates struggling to get up after the attack.

Jango grimaced and looked at the sky. "Tch. It's getting later... Hey, don't tell me you're going to let a bunch of kids beat you! Captain Kuro is a very impatient man! You know what'll happen, right?!" He shouted at his crew.

At that, the pirates all went rigid before struggling to get back up, most only managing to get up to their knees.

Jango took out his hypnotism ring and held it out in front of them. "We don't have time to fool around here! If they're strong, we'll just have to be stronger!" He started to sway the ring back and forth. "Now, look into this ring! When I say 'one, two, Jango,' you'll all become stronger! All your injuries will heal!"

"What's he doing?" Luffy asked with a confused frown.

"It's hypnosis," Nami answered.

Lambo frowned. "There's no way that'll work. Putting people to sleep is one thing. But making them physically stronger has gotta be impossible."

"Hm?" Luffy just grunted, looking at the ring.

"You'll become much, much stronger! One! Two!" Jango lowered his head, covering his eyes with his hat. "JANGO!"

At first, there was nothing. Then, all at once, the crew of pirates let out a deafening roar, all getting up and shrugging off their wounds as if they were nothing.

Nami winced and covered her ears. "What the?!"

"What's going on?" Zoro asked, narrowing his eyes.

Lambo frowned. Maybe Jango could make them _think_ they were stronger or that they weren't wounded, but there's no way he could actually make it happen.

...Right?

As if to answer his question, one of the pirates slammed his fist into the side of the slope. Cracks formed in the stone, running upwards before a gigantic chunk fell off and crashed into the land below. The group of pirates cheered as it did, unmindful of the ground shaking beneath their feet from the impact.

"What the hell?!" Zoro exclaimed in astonishment. "What power!"

"It actually _worked_?!" Lambo asked, gaping.

"They're really hypnotized!" Nami said.

"No way..." Usopp mumbled, looking at the newly recovered pirates in horror. "And there's so many of them, too!"

"So this is what they call mind over matter..." Lambo muttered, taking a step back. "This is really bad."

"Alright, you lot, go! Leave no one alive!" Jango shouted. His crew let out a cheer before turning and stampeding towards the smaller group.

Zoro cursed. He looked at Usopp and Nami. "Hey, you two! Get out of the way! Let me, Luffy, and Lambo handle this!"

The two glanced at him before Nami nodded and ran past him, Usopp scrambling after her. "Good luck!" She called.

"You two ready?" Zoro asked, unsheathing his blades.

Lambo steeled himself and took a step forward, bringing his Lightning Flames to life. "Ready."

"Luffy?"

"..."

"...Luffy?"

"..."

They both turned to look at their captain, who's hat shadowed his eyes, his teeth gritted firmly.

Lambo's eyes widened, remembering the cliff incident. "Oh, don't tell me..."

Luffy lifted his head, and Lambo saw that his pupils weren't there anymore, his eyes having rolled back. He was completely hypnotized. "GRAAAAH!" The boy shouted, punching his arms in the air.

"You got yourself hypnotized too?!" Zoro exclaimed in disbelief.

"You've got to be _kidding me_ ," Lambo said as Luffy ran past them and towards the charging pirates, screaming all the way. 

"That _idiot_!" Nami said in disbelief while Usopp just watched in awe.

"GOMU GOMU NO...!" Luffy shouted, stretching his arms back before lunging them forward into a flurry of punches. "MACHINE GUN!"

Everyone watched as Luffy's punches sent the pirates flying back, or into the air, crashing into the ground below. His already massive strength improved further by the hypnosis, it looked like they were nothing more than flies for him to swat away.

"Hey, uh, maybe this is a good thing?" Usopp said, watching as Luffy mowed them down.

Nami nodded. "Maybe..."

"B-But, he won't come after us right?" Usopp added fearfully.

"Of course not," Nami scoffed. She then paused and looked at Luffy warily. "Well...hopefully not."

"H-Hopefully?!"

"Damn, Captain Kuro made a big miscalculation," Jango muttered to himself, grimacing as he watched his men be defeated with ease. "These aren't ordinary brats!"

"Sh-Shit! Everyone run!" Someone shouted. The pirates all quickly followed the order as Luffy raced after them.

And then ran right past them.

Jango stepped back as Luffy came closer. He put his arms up to shield himself, expecting the boy to start throwing punches at him.

Luffy ran past him as well.

"What the? What the hell is he doing?" Zoro asked.

Lambo shook his head. "I have no idea."

Luffy ran straight up to the boat and wrapped his arms around the neck of the figurehead, which Lambo only now realized was in the shape of a cat head. His arms now tightly around it, he started to pull. Wood splintered and tore as the figurehead was forcefully removed from the ship.

All the pirates, including Luffy's own crew, watched on incredulously. If Lambo didn't know any better, it seemed that even the figurehead was shocked by what the boy was doing.

Nami was the first to break out of her stupor and punched a fist in the air. "Alright! Go, Luffy!"

_'If he destroyes their ship, they can't go for backup... Could it be that Luffy is actually thinking?'_ Lambo thought to himself.

Now holding the figurehead, Luffy turned and glared at the pirates, who stepped back in fear.

"N-No way! He wants to wack us with that?!" One of them shouted.

_'...Or maybe not,'_ Lambo answered himself, facepalming. _'He's fighting on pure instincts now...'_

"H-Hurry and do something, Captain!" One of the pirates shouted as he ran.

Jango looked around in fear. "M-Me?!"

"Hypnotize him, for the love of God!"

"O-Oh, right!" Jango shouted, pulling out his ring and putting it in front of him. "When I say 'one, two, jango,' you'll fall deep asleep! One! Two! JANGO!"

The effect was almost immediate. Luffy's angered expression was replaced with a tired one as his eyelids fell and his body followed after. Unfortunately for Jango, this also caused the figurehead to fall from his hands directly onto most of the pirates, scattering them around in random directions. Luffy's snores filled the resulting silence.

"Seriously, that idiot..." Zoro mumbled in frustration.

"Well...at least he got rid of most of them," Lambo offered. "That's something."

"Uh, shouldn't you be a little more concerned?" Usopp asked.

"About what? Luffy? He's fine," Zoro answered. "Worry more about yourself."

"He fell off a cliff and came out completely fine," Lambo added. "This is nothing to him."

"I-I see..."

Jango gave a fearful grimace as he looked around at his fallen comrades. "D-Dammit! If Captain Kuro sees this... We'll all be killed!"

"Hey, Buchi! Look what happened out here!"

"Huh? What happened?"

Everyone blinked as two new voices came in the direction of the ship.

Jango swivled around, a smirk taking the place of his panicked expression. "Of course! We still have our trump card! Come out, Nyaban Brothers!"

"Nyaban Brothers?" Zoro asked.

Lambo frowned. "I don't like the sound of that."

As if on cue, two figures jumped from the ship, flipping in midair before landing in front of Jango. "You called, Captain Jango?"

"You called?"

Lambo felt his eye twitch. "What the hell...?"

If he thought the rest of the Black Cat Pirates were strange looking, then these two were on a completely different level. Not even Moji could compare.

The first was a scrawny man with bright green hair that was swept to one side with curls on the end. He wore a shorts and a baggy shirt that made him look like a hunchback, although he supposed he couldn't be sure that it was the shirt doing that. He had a pink bowtie around his neck, black cat ears on his head, and black gloves with what looked like razor-sharp cat claws on the fingertips.

The second was almost the complete opposite. He was an overweight man with no shirt. Instead he wore striped red and black pants with a yellow sash tied around them, and what looked like a sleeping blanket around his shoulders like the cape of a king. Like the other, though, he wore a pair of black cat ears on his head and cat-clawed purple gloves. One of his eyes was surrounded by a patch of black, which Lambo supposed was probably from make up or the like.

"They're really taking their cat motif to the extreme, aren't they...?" Lambo mumbled to himself. He then frowned. "It's so bad that I'm actually starting to talk like Ryohei..."

The green-haired man stood and did a strange, cat-like pose. "Sham and...!"

The overweight man stood and did his own. "Buchi!"

"Together, we're the Nyaban Brothers!" They finished together.

_'These pirates just keep getting weirder and weirder...'_ Lambo thought to himself. _'Makes me wonder what we're going to see next...'_

"Buchi! Sham!" Jango said. "We have a slight problem. We need to get past this slope, but as you can see..." He turned and pointed at Zoro and Lambo. "These people are standing in our way. Take care of them."

Buchi and Sham turned to look at them. Their eyes widened in fear and they took a step back. "N-No way!" Sham shouted. "They look scary! Especially that green one! Right, Buchi?!"

"Y-Yeah! It's impossible!"

Zoro frowned in puzzlement. "Huh? What's wrong with those two? And they call themselves pirates?"

"Besides, isn't it your responsibility as captain?" Sham continued. "We're just responsible for looking after the ship!"

"Yeah, we don't battle!" Buchi agreed.

"Shami, Buchi, just do it," Jango said.

Sham's eyes widened. "Huh?! B-But-!"

Jango glared at them. "NOW!"

They both flinched. "F-Fine, I'm going..." Sham said. He then turned and ran towards them, yelling a pathetic battle cry and flailing his arms in the air.

Nami frowned. "What the hell? How does he expect to fight like that?"

"Maybe this'll be easy after all...?" Lambo asked, although he was frowning deeply. "But he must have called them his trump card for a reason... Something's not right."

"Hey, you! Be prepared, 'cause I'm gonna rip you apart with these claws!" Sham shouted, still doing his pathetic run.

Lambo turned to Zoro. "So, uh, what do we do?"

Zoro grimaced. "Honestly, I'd feel kind of bad beating that poor bastard up... Hey, you! If you don't stop right now, I'll kill you!"

"You'd feel bad beating him up, so you threaten to kill him...?" Lambo mumbled, giving the swordsman a half-lidded look. He was, of course, ignored. He turned back to the cat man running towards them.

Suddenly, there was a change in the air. The man's face lost it's pathetic facade and transformed into a sharp grin. "I'd like to see you try."

Both boys' eyes widened as he lunged forward with all the grace and agility of a cat. "Wha-"

"I think I'll go after you first!"

Lambo's eyes widened when Sham turned his gaze on him. The cat-man lunged forward, claws glinting in the sunlight as they aimed for his throat.

_CLANG_

Lambo backpeddled as metal struck metal. Zoro grunted as he blocked the would be blow with his swords. "This guy...!"

"Z-Zoro...!"

Sham's grin broadened. "And I was acting so well, too..." He then jumped back, landing a little ways away from them.

Lambo's eyes widened in disbelief when he saw what was now strapped to the cat-man's back. "Zoro! Your swords!"

Zoro's eyes widened as well. "When did he...?!"

Lambo gritted his teeth. _'I didn't even see him take them, and I was right there! This must have been his plan the entire time...'_

"I may be tiny, but you'd better not take Sham of the Nyaban Brothers lightly~!"

In the background, Jango and Buchi watched on. "There it is," the hyptonist commented.

Buchi nodded. "Cat Snatch."

"You bastard...! Give those katanas back!" Zoro snarled at Sham.

Sham smirked. "Huh? Why? You already have one. These two will just get in your way, right?" With that, he took both swords off his back and tossed them behind himself. They clattered to the ground a far distance away from the three of them. "There! Now I feel much lighter~!"

"DON'T THROW THEM LIKE THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Zoro shouted in rage, dashing towards him.

Lambo's eyes widened as Zoro's remaining sword cut through the side of Sham's torso. The swordsman wasted no time in running towards his swords. It was only too late that he realized there was no blood.

"ZORO, BEHIND YOU!"

"Huh?!"

Zoro turned around just in time to see Sham leaping towards him. The cat-like man landed on his back and grabbed his arms from behind. "It'll take more than that!" He shouted as he pinned Zoro to the ground. His baggy clothes were cut, but his body was fine. Obviously, he wore those for a reason.

_'Dammit! Stop standing here and staring!'_ Lambo thought to himself. _'Zoro needs his swords!'_ Forcing his body into motion, Lambo ran forward.

Sham frowned at him as he ran past. "Almost forgot about you. Buchi!"

"Gotcha, Sham! Watch this!" Buchi shouted, running forward before leaping. Lambo couldn't help but watch in awe as the overweight man launched himself into the air easily.

"What kind of monsters are these?!"

Buchi smirked down at him. Lambo stopped running towards the swords and scrambled back as he came crashing down onto where he was standing moments before. When the dust and debris cleared, he saw that a crater had been formed.

_'D-Damn, that could have been me...'_

Buchi glared at him, then turned to Sham. "Hey, Sham, hold him down for me next time!"

Sham glared back. "I'm a little busy with this one!"

Under him, Zoro gritted his teeth and forced himself up. Sham's eyes widened, and he quickly jumped away before the swordsman could slash at him.

"He's stronger than I thought," the green-haired cat-man said as he landed next to Buchi.

"Hey, you okay?" Zoro asked Lambo, not taking his eyes off the two men.

"Y-Yeah..."

Zoro looked back at the newly formed crater and grimaced. “Be careful. If that hits you, all your bones will be shattered to pieces.”

Lambo’s eyes widened. “G-Good to know.”

“Let’s try this again!” Sham said, stretching his claws.

“Let’s!” Buchi agreed.

Zoro got ready, holding his sword out in front of him. “I’m not used to fighting with one sword, but I guess I’ve got no choice. If you want, you can go hide with Nami and Usopp, Lambo.”

Lambo shook his head, holding onto his resolve as firmly as he could. _‘I need to get ahold of myself. If I’m going to become the strongest Mafioso, I need to stop hiding behind others and fight for myself. Otherwise, I won’t get anywhere...’_ “I’m fighting too.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“...Alright then. They're fast, so be careful.”

"Right."

"Hmm, we usually fight together," Sham said. "But with two opponents, I guess we have no choice, do we Buchi?"

Buchi nodded. "No choice."

"Alright, then! I'll go after the swordsman, you go after the cow guy!"

"Right!"

And with no other warning, they sprang.

Lambo's eyes widened as they came towards them. _'Zoro wasn't kidding! Shit, I need to get away from him!'_ Thinking purely on instinct, he sent an electric charge to his leg. Emerald green flames shot out from beneath him, throwing him backwards just in time for Buchi's claws to miss his face. _'Holy crap, I had no idea I could do that!'_

Next to him, Zoro blocked Sham's claws with his swords, parrying them with blinding speed.

Buchi paused for a moment, looking at the flames in confusion. He then shook his head and refocused on his attacks. Getting down on all fours, he sprang forward, claws gleaming.

Lambo grimaced. "Dammit!" He put his hands up and let the lightning flames engulf them. However, it was a split second too slow.

He let out a gasp of pain as the claws cut through the flesh of his arm, before the lightning flames finally fully activated and sent the man flying back, body crackling with electricity.

Zoro glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Oi! You okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Worry about your own fight!" Lambo said through gritted teeth, looking down at his arm. It hurt like hell, but it didn't seem too bad. He'd keep his arm, if nothing else.

Sham, finally realizing something happened, glanced back to see Buchi stand up shakily, some wisps of electricity still sparkling here and there. "What the...?"

Zoro turned his attention back to him. "Your opponent is over here!" He shouted, stabbing forward.

Shami glared, but refocused on him, turning away from Buchi.

Buchi shook the electricity off, staggering. "I don't know what kind of trick you did, but it'll take more than that to stop me!"

Lambo grimaced. He didn't have that much real fighting practice with his flames. As a result, they were still pretty weak. Enough to take out some weak muggers and lackeys in one shot, but when it came to someone who could actually fight him... If it were anybody else, they could have taken these guys out with one short burst, but with him...

_'Get ahold of yourself! This is why you're on this journey in the first place, right?!'_

"Wh-What the hell was _that_?!" Usopp said, staring down in awe. "It was like he...shot electricity at them or something!"

Nami nodded. "I don't really understand it either. It's just something he can do."

"Well that's a half-assed way of explaining it..."

"I don't know what I don't know, alright? More importantly, we need to do something. They're too fast!"

Usopp frowned and nodded. Reaching into his bag, he took out his slingshot and a rather large pachinko, aiming downwards. "Alright, I'll cover them!"

Nami's eyes widened. "H-Hey, wait a min-"

But it was too late, Usopp had sent the Pachinko flying...

Only to hit Zoro instead.

Zoro gasped in pain, giving Sham an opening. The cat man raked his claws across the man's chest. The swordsman was sent backwards, but quickly landed back on his feet.

Nami gave Usopp a wide-eyed glare. "What the hell are you doing?! Attacking your own allies?!"

"Th-That's not what happened!" Usopp shouted, looking just as shocked as her. "He...moved in front of it!"

"What?!"

Lambo's eyes widened at what had just happened. "Zoro, are you- Guh!" He got cut off when Buchi came at him again, a bit slower this time because of the aftereffects of the electricity running through his body. Lambo managed to dodge the blow and call up more lightning flames. Buchi had learned his lesson at this point, however, and jumped back, avoiding them.

"I'm fine! Focus on yourself!" Zoro shouted at him, blocking more blows from Sham. "And you two, stay the hell out of this!" He added, sending a quick glare at Nami and Usopp. "Do you want to die or something?!"

Usopp gulped as the fighting continued.

"Maybe...we're the ones who were saved here," Nami spoke up. "If you'd attacked them, they may have come for _us_."

"S-Seriously?"

Buchi shook off the remaining static and glared at him, injured but still able to put up a fight. "You're some kind of monster, you know that?"

Lambo glared back at him. "Better a monster than a freaky cat-guy."

"That's rich, coming from a freaky cow-guy!"

Lambo blinked. "...Walked right into that one."

Growing serious again, he looked down at his injured arm. It was still bleeding heavily. He didn't really know how much blood a human could lose before they passed out entirely.

_'Well, if Zoro can do it... Then again, I'm not entirely sure he's actually human.'_

And then a streak of orange ran past, breaking him out of his thoughts. His eyes widened when he saw that it was Nami running past them. "What the?!" He looked back up the cliff. "Usopp, what the hell?!"

Usopp looked down at him with wide eyes. "Sh-She said she's going to get Zoro's swords!"

Buchi, hearing the words, turned towards the running girl. "I'd better kill that girl then!"

Lambo scowled. "Oh no, you don't!" He shouted, running forward while taking out his horns and putting them on with his uninjured hand. "Electricco Cornatta!"

"Oof!" Buchi gasped as Lambo tackled him to the ground, getting another jolt of electricity.

The cow-clad boy landed on the man's back and tried his best to pin him there. "Hurry, Nami!"

Nami glanced back and nodded. "Right!" Reaching the swords, she bent down to get them.

Usopp's eyes widened in terror. "NAMI, LOOK OUT!"

"Huh?" Nami looked up in confusion to see Jango standing over her. And before she could do anything else, he brought the ring he used for his hypnosis down, slicing it through her shoulder.

"N-NAMI!" Usopp shouted in panic.

"Nami!" Lambo shouted at the same time, wanting to run over but being too busy with Buchi to do so. _'Dammit! I didn't think that guy could actually fight! We took him too lightly...just like these damn cat guys!'_

Nami fell to the ground, gasping in pain and clutching her shoulder.

Jango glanced back at her before turning back around and...

His face immediately went pale. Mouth opening in a silent scream of panic, he took a step away from whatever had caught his attention.

Buchi, recovering slighty, shoved Lambo off. Lambo let out an 'oof' as he fall backwards onto the ground.

_'Dammit... I need an actual weapon soon. Fighting with my bare hands isn't exactly working too well...'_

He quickly got back up and glared at Buchi, only to be confused when he saw that the cat-man was staring at something behind him, body shivering in fear.

_'What the?'_ He turned to get a look at what he was staring at. As he did, he caught a glimpse of Sham, who was staring ahead with the same expression of fear. Zoro also turned around in confusion. _'What is...'_

As soon as he saw it, however, he understood. Standing at the entrance of the slope, looking like he was ready to murder someone, was Klahadore himself.

"C-Captain Kuro..." Buchi stuttered.

"W-We're all gonna get killed...!" Someone else shouted.

Klahadore slowly reached up and adjusted his glasses. "It's been daylight for some time now... And I see the village is still in one piece. Why didn't everything go according to plan, Jango?"

Jango took a step back. "C-Captain. I, uh... Well... You see..."

But Klahadore cut him off, glaring furiously. _"What the hell is going on?!"_


	18. Kaya and Klahadore

"Never in my life did I expect to find the Black Cat Pirates losing to a bunch of children," Klahadore said coldly, adjusting his glasses with his right hand while dropping the bag he held in his left onto the ground. "My crew certainly isn't what it used to be. I'm disappointed, Jango!" He shouted, his voice reverberating around the slope.

The way he could go from calm to enraged in an instant sent a shudder down Lambo's spine. There was definitely something wrong with this guy. He supposed there had to be for him to be willing to kill an entire village full of people he'd known for years.

Jango hesitated for a moment before stuttering out "B-But didn't you say that these kids would be no problem?!"

Klahadore remained unmoved. "Yes, I did. What of it? I knew they would come here and try to stop you, but what I didn't expect was for you, the ruthless Black Cat Pirates, to be so _pathetic_."

"P-Pathetic...?" Jango asked, his fearful expression beginning to be replaced with an angered one.

"Who are you calling pathetic?!" Jango was not the only one insulted. Sham and Buchi turned their attention away from their previous opponents and to their captain as well.

Lambo and Zoro glanced at each other as their previous opponents left them.

"Looks like they're gonna fight amongst themselves now," Zoro said.

Lambo nodded. "Looks like it. If we're lucky, maybe they'll finish each other off," _'Glad our crew isn't like that...'_

"You may have been the strongest in the past, but that was a full three years ago!" Sham shouted at him as he and Buchi extended their claws. "We weren't just sitting on the ship and waiting while you were fooling around in this village!"

"That's right!" Buchi agreed. "We've been sailing around pillaging and fighting tons of other pirate crews! We're much stronger now than we were when you were still around!"

Klahadore stared at them expressionlessly. "...What are you implying?"

"WE'RE SAYING THAT WE CAN KILL YOU!"

"S-Stop, you two!" Jango shouted in panic as the brothers rushed towards Klahadore.

Klahadore just blinked at the two pirates running towards him before reaching into his bag.

"You're not our captain anymore!" Sham shouted as they neared him.

"We don't need a weakling for a captain!" Buchi added.

With that, they finally reached him, bringing their claws down on him and ripping him to shreds.

An empty, torn up bag was all that was left on the ground. But Klahadore was nowhere to be seen. The two looked at it in shock and confusion. Meanwhile, Lambo and Zoro's eyes widened as, in a blur, Klahadore reappeared behind them.

"When did he...?!" Zoro muttered. "And that weapon..."

Ten swords gleamed in the sunlight, attached to each finger of the gloves Klahadore was now wearing. That must be what he had been keeping in that bag of his.

"So... You're going to kill me, are you?"

"Damn!" The cat brothers shouted, quickly turning around for a second attempt. Unfortunately for them, it ended with the same result. The butler disappeared once again.

"He still remembers his Stealth Foot technique, too..." Jango muttered in the distance.

Behind him, still lying on the ground and clutching her wounded shoulder, Nami squinted up at him. _'Stealth Foot?'_

It was almost like watching a dance as Klahadore came in and out of focus all around the Nyanban Brothers. Finally, he came to a stop directly behind them, arms around their shoulders and blades pointed at their necks.

"You know, you may be right... I'm not as fast as I once was."

_'Are you kidding me?! This guy is really dangerous!'_ Lambo thought, eyes wide, breath caught in his throat. If this was "slow" then he didn't want to know what the butler was like in his prime.

"Staying in this peaceful island for so long...its humbled me," Klahadore continued, his grim face contorting into a smile. "I'll give you five minutes." With that declaration, he moved his blades away from their exposed throats and stepped back. Both the brothers let out desperate gasps for air as he did. "If you don't kill them in that time limit..." His eyes went past the two of them and swept over the remaining pirates, all looking on in fear near their now destroyed ship. "Then _all of you_ will be killed."

_'Is he...being serious?'_ Lambo asked himself and turned his head to look at the group of Black Cat Pirates behind him. Judging from their pale faces, he most certainly was.

Amidst it all, Jango started laughing nervously. "F-Five minutes...? Y-Yeah, we can definitely kill them in five minutes!" He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more so than his captain. He looked over at Lambo and Zoro. "W-We just have to get rid of them. The rest'll be easy!"

With no other word of warning, the Nyanban Brothers charged towards the two opposing pirates. "Those guys can barely keep up with us! We'll get this over with in five seconds, and then we'll attack that damn village!"

"We're counting on you, Nyanban Brothers!" Jango shouted to them.

"HEY, ZORO!" Nami suddenly shouted, running past the distracted Jango, her hand still grasping her injured shoulder. She reached her destination, where Zoro's two swords lay almost forgotten, and swiftly kicked them into the air, sending them flying towards him. "CATCH!"

"HEY, DON'T KICK THEM LIKE THAT!" Zoro shouted furiously even as he reached out for them.

Nami smirked. "Where's my 'thank you?'"

At that, Zoro smirked, jumping up to grab his swords before turning to face Buchi and Sham head on. "Thank you!"

Lambo glanced at him before turning back to the approaching pirates. Klahadore was still just standing there, watching. This was probably a _terrible_ idea, but if he could just catch him off guard then maybe...

"Hah! It's useless!" Buchi shouted. "You still won't be able to keep up with us!"

Ignoring their jeers, Zoro got into position. As he did, so did Lambo, earning a glance from the swordsman. He couldn't spare it much thought, though, as the two brothers were closing in.

"Tiger Hunting Prey!" Zoro shouted. Within the blink of an eye, the two cat pirates were sent flying behind him, covered in gashes, each squirting copious amounts of blood. In the aftermath of the attack, debris from the ground was picked up, creating a light dust storm.

"Four minutes to go," Klahadore mumbled, watching the scene impassively. "...Hm?" He frowned when he caught sight of emerald sparks in the dust cloud. The sparks were getting brighter and brighter, as if the source was getting closer.

Lambo burst out of the dust and towards the butler, emerald green lightning crackling around him. Klahadore was surprised into motionless for just one single second before he jumped away from the charging boy, managing to dodge the attack.

"Oh?" Klahadore said, his emotionless expression morphing into one of curiosity. "Now that's something you don't see every day."

Lambo managed to stop his charge and turned to glare at him. "Tch. Missed."

"That's quite the trick," Klahadore continued. "Am I to assume you've eaten one of the fabled Devil's Fruits? To think I would witness one in person... It doesn't look like it's a problem if you can't hit me directly, however."

Lambo just kept his mouth shut and glared at him, unwilling to give him any information about his powers.

Unfortunately, he was more or less right. While he could send small projectiles of electricity, his aim still wasn't very good. Even if it was, they lost power the farther they had to travel to reach their opponent. Having them still attached to him while he fought was for the best. ...Even though it secretly terrified him to have to fight someone like this close up and personal.

Klahadore sighed at his lack of response and adjusted his glasses. "Very well. Be that way."

Lambo let his Lightning Flames crackle around his horns once again, intending to take another shot at him. He'd lost the advantage of surprise, but maybe if he was fast enough-

"Shit! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Zoro's voice broke his concentration and he let out a gasp of surprise as he felt a hand grab him by the back of his shirt yank him back. He fell onto the ground beside Zoro a wider distance away from the butler.

He didn't have time to even think about asking Zoro what was wrong when something fell from above, landing where had been standing moments before. The ground rumbled as it did, and both of them would have knocked down if they weren't on the ground already. Lambo looked over at the cause in surprise as Zoro's expression turned grim.

The cause of the mini-earthquake was Buchi. The overweight pirate had a deep cut across his chest from his brief battle with Zoro, but it didn't seem to be bothering him in the least. His muscles seemed a lot more pronounced and his face was contorted into an almost feral glare. What stood out the most, however, was that his pupils were gone, leaving his eyes completely white.

Lambo inwardly cursed as the realization dawned on him. "He's been hypnotized?!"

"Yeah," Zoro said, placing his sword back in his mouth. "I could have sworn I killed him, but I guess all that fat protected him. I didn't even realize he'd crawled over to that damn hypnotist until it was too late."

"Two minutes left," Klahadore continued, not looking bothered or surprised.

Zoro readied his swords, glancing from Klahadore to Buchi.

Lambo frowned, mind racing about what to do in this situation. Klahadore was fast, there was no way any of them could match his speed. There was nothing stopping him from deciding to rush forward and stab through one of them while they were dealing with Buchi. If only he had a way to increase his own speed...

His mind suddenly flashed back to his earlier fight with Buchi. The jet of Lightning Flames that had burst out of his feet. It had been an almost instinctual response, but if he could replicate it...

"...Zoro."

Zoro glanced at him for a second before placing his gaze firmly back on Buchi. "What is it?"

"I'm gonna try to go for that butler again. Can you keep Buchi off my back?"

Zoro's brow furrowed. "Hey, you sure about that?"

Lambo gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I have an idea."

"...Alright."

With that, the swordsman turned his full attention to Buchi while Lambo turned his to Klahadore. To his surprise, Klahadore had not made a move towards them during their talk. He simply stayed where he was, adjusted his glasses, and sent him a smirk that had Lambo feeling like the temperature just dropped.

He heard Buchi give a guttural roar behind him but didn't turn to look, trusting Zoro to take care of him. Deep down, he knew the person he was facing was much more dangerous than the other Black Cat Pirate. He felt doubt and nervousness start to creep in but quickly shoved it to the side before it could take root.

Alright, how did he do this again? Channel his flames on his feet. Not too much, or he'll be shot forward and not have any control. He had to focus...

Just as he heard the clang of sword against claws behind him, he felt himself be projected forward as he finally managed to get his flames where he wanted them. Klahadore's expression turned a bit surprised when Lambo suddenly shot towards him. _'Shit, too fast!'_ Lambo thought, quickly redirecting some of his flames to his horns. "Electrico Cornata!"

Klahadore, however, recovered quickly from his surprise and disappeared in a blur, leaving Lambo tackling the empty air. Lambo quickly cut the flames from his feet, stumbling a bit as he landed back firmly on the ground and tried to regain his footing. _'Dammit! Even with this, he's still faster!'_

He felt a rush of air from behind and quickly realized the butler had stopped behind him. Cursing again in his mind, he let his flames burst from his feet just in time to dodge the five razor-sharp blades swinging down at him. Landing on the ground, he quickly turned and propelled himself forward again, flames still crackling around his horns, wanting to get at least one hit in.

It seemed like there was a delay between when Klahadore attacked and when he disappeared again, giving Lambo the opportunity to slam right into the butler's chest. Klahadore let out a choked gasp as he was sent back, but managed to land on his feet despite the electricity crackling around his body.

Even as his body convulsed, he managed to stay on his feet. His calm demeanor was now tainted with an expression of anger, though he did a good job of hiding most of it. To be able to bounce back like that, he must still be used to combat even after all his years as a butler.

This was certainly not going to be easy.

XXX

"A-Amazing!" Usopp gaped, watching it all unfold. 

The Black Cat pirate crew were having similar reactions.

"I-Is that lightning?! What the hell is he?!"

"That other kid, too! He could stretch his arms like rubber! What kind of monsters are these?!"

"Damn, at this rate, there's no way we'll kill them in the Captain's time limit...!" Jango said, his voice shaking.

So surprised were they, that they didn't even register Nami still being there just behind them, very much alive and conscious. Seeing the opportunity, she quickly turned and started making her way to the still passed out Luffy.

_'Geez! Everyone's doing their best and he's still...!'_

XXX

The moment the effects of the electricity faded, Klahadore was gone again. Lambo looked behind him, expecting the butler to reappear there once again.

That was a mistake.

Klahadore reappeared right in front of him. Lambo's eyes widened, not expecting that. Before he could do anything, he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. The next thing he knew he was on his back on the ground, the butler standing over him. Glancing towards his arm, he saw that Klahadore's claws had pierced right through it, pinning it to the ground. Looking back up, he saw Klahadore's other hand raised, prepared to come down at him.

Knowing that this was over if he stayed frozen for even a second longer, Lambo quickly raised his foot so that it was against the other man's chest and released a jet of flames, knocking him back. He couldn't help but let out a gasp of pain as he felt the claws being forcefully removed from where they had been in his arm.

Lambo quickly got back up. Klahadore stayed on the ground for a moment before slowly standing. He was staggering a bit.

"...I'll admit," Klahadore said after a moment of tense silence. "It's been a while since I've felt this pissed off." When he looked back up at Lambo, the cow-clad boy couldn't help but take a step back at the hate-filled glare aimed at him. "I can't remember the last time I took so many hits. That's some power. I suppose I'll have to cut you down as quick as possible to avoid it."

Lambo glanced in Zoro's direction, wanting to see if he was done with his own fight.

"Got you."

Lambo quickly realized that looking away even for a moment was a mistake. He turned back to see the butler back in front of him, a terrifying smile on his face as his blades lunged towards Lambo's neck. He wouldn't be able to move away in time.

_'Is this it?'_   
_**BANG** _

Klahadore's claws stopped inches from his skin. His gaze was now turned towards the source of the unexpected sound. Lambo looked in that direction as well to see the last possible person he had expected.

_'Is that...Kaya?!'_

Kaya was breathing hard, looking even paler than she did normally. In her trembling hands, she clutched pistol, aimed towards the ground. A small hole was near her feet, where she had shot to gain their attention.

"Klahadore!" She shouted as she regained her breath. "Stop this right now!"

"K-Kaya?!" Usopp shouted from his place at the cliff, quickly getting up. "What are you doing here?!"

"That's Kaya?!" Jango said in surprise. "That's our target!"

Around him, his crew started murmuring to each other.

" _That's_ Kaya?"

"That scrawny-looking girl is our target?"

"Th-Then, doesn't that mean we don't have to go to the village?"

"You're right! She came right to us!"

"We just have to kill her now!"

"Kaya..." Klahadore said, and Lambo had the unexpected honor of seeing him unsettled. "You surprised me...what are you doing here? And with a gun no less?"

Lambo's eyes widened. _'This is my chance!'_ He quickly called his flames, knowing that he probably won't get a better opportunity than this. Emerald green electricity started to crackle around him...

"Wait! Please!"

Lambo froze and looked at Kaya in surprise while Klahadore glanced at him and then back at her.

"Please, let me talk to him!" Kaya said desperately, eyes wide. "I beg of you!"

Lambo frowned, remembering how easily the butler had talked about killing her mere moments ago. "I don't think- Oof!" Before he could finish his sentence, he found himself getting a kick in the gut, courtesy of Klahadore. Staggering back, he saw that the butler was no longer in front of him, but now in front of Kaya. _'Seriously, how is he so fast?!'_ He gritted his teeth, but stayed where he was. He wouldn't put Klahadore above using Kaya as a hostage if necessary.

"K-Klahadore..." Kaya said, faltering a bit before finding her resolve and looking into his eyes. "Merry told me everything."

"Did he now?" Klahadore asked, looking impassive. "I'm surprised he was still alive. I didn't show him any mercy."

Kaya's eyes widened, filling with dismay. It was obvious she was hoping for any answer other than that. The hands around the pistol shook for a moment before she steadied them. "U-Usopp..." She said after a moment. "I'm so sorry... I should have believed you, but I couldn't fathom Klahadore being a pirate..."

"Forget about that! Didn't I tell you to run away?!" Usopp shouted, hurrying to make his way over to her. "These guys are after _you_!"

Kaya looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "I can't do that! Aren't you fighting as well?! Even though I treated you so badly and you're covered in injuries!"

"Th-That's different! I'm...I'm a brave warrior of the sea!"

The girl had made up her mind, though, looking at Klahadore with a mixture of apprehension and determination. "Klahadore! If it's my money you want, I'll give it all to you! Just please leave this village!"

"...You're incorrect, Lady Kaya," Klahadore finally said. "What I want isn't just your money. I also want peace."

Kaya blinked. "What?"

Lambo grimaced, wishing he could go over there and knock him away from her. _'Peace? What's he on about?'_

Seeing Kaya's confusion, Klahadore elaborated. "I've spent three years here, gaining the village's trust. I feel at peace here, away from the constant battles against rival pirates and Marines. Only when I have obtained both money _and_ that peace will my plan be complete." He adjusted his glasses, eyes never leaving Kaya's. "For that, your death is essential."

Kaya's eyes widened and she took a step back, staring at Klahadore as if she had never seen her before. "K-Klahadore..."

"Kaya, run!" Usopp shouted at her desperately. "Just run! Please!"

Lambo was already in fear that Klahadore would attack Kaya at any second, but now a different fear joined it. "...Hey, you," he called out. Klahadore glanced at him, his calm facade morphing back into irritation. Lambo hesitated for a moment before deciding to go on. "You've been taking care of her for the past few years, right? Don't you feel... _anything_ towards her? Anything at all?"

"Of course I do," Klahadore said, surprising him. He turned back to Kaya, who looked as surprised as Lambo, a small light of hope appearing in her eyes. He looked at the pistol clasped in her hands. "...It seems you've gotten stronger in these past years. A lot has happened to us since your parents died. We took boat rides together... Went into town together... Whenever you came down with a fever, I was always there to take care of you." As he spoke, he slowly walked towards her. Once he was close enough, he took one of his gloves off and reached his hand towards hers, wrapping it around the gun she still clasped tightly. "I've served you tirelessly. No matter how much I hated it, all so I could kill you today."

With that, the spark of hope disappeared. Kaya bit her lip as tears finally overflowed from her eyes. He easily took the gun from her, letting it fall to the ground and then crushing it with his foot.

"I was a captain in the past," he continued, any calmness he had slowly being replaced by growing anger. "Yet I served a naive little girl, trying to get her to trust me, for the past three years. No matter how _demeaning_ it was!"

Lambo felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and bitterly regretted even thinking of trying to appeal to the man's humanity, if he even had any. Seeing Kaya's distraught face made it even worse.

"YOU BASTARD!" Lambo's head whipped around in surprise just in time to see Usopp charge past him and towards the butler.

"Wha- Usopp, WAIT!"

"Usopp..." Kaya cried tearfully.

"Usopp. Now that I think about it, I never paid you back for that punch, did I?" Klahadore continued calmly. "Let's fix that, shall we?" He easily dodged the punch the long-nosed boy aimed at his face and moved behind him, blades outstretched.

_"Dammit!"_ Lambo shouted, throwing caution to the wind and letting out another burst of flames from his feet, propelling himself towards Klahadore.

Unfortunately, however, Klahadore hadn't forgotten about him. "You as well," he said, lifting his other hand so that all blades were pointed towards the incoming boy.

Lambo's eyes widened when he saw what the butler did. At the speed he was going, he was going to plunge face first right into those swords.

_'Dammit! It's too late for me to stop! I can't-'_

Before he even had time to finish his thought, a very recognizable fist burst out of nowhere and rammed right into the butler's face, blowing him away from Lambo, Usopp, and Kaya.

Lambo stumbled a bit as he cut off his flames. Turning, he saw the arm that threw the punch retract itself back to a figure near the destroyed Black Cat's pirate ship.

Luffy smirked as his arm returned to its natural position. Next to him, sitting on the ground and clutching her injured shoulder, Nami sighed in relief.

Luffy grinned at them all. "How do you like _my_ punch?"


End file.
